^eMRY  MeLCHIOR  MlJHL€NB€RG.fti). 


Wijliam  K.rrick'.D.D, 


Columbia  Mniner^itp 

intljfCitpofilfttigork 

THE  LIBRARIES 


'V"f/' 


ECCLESIA  NON  PLANTATA,  SED  PLANTANDA 


Hcinrich  Mclchior  Miihlcnbcr^,  D.  D, 

Horn  September  6th,  A.  D.  1711.     Died  October  7th,  A.  D.  1787. 

BV    FAITH    HE    BEING    DEAD    YET    SPEAKETH 


HENRY  MELGHIOR  MUHLENBERG, 


"PATRIAKCH  OF  THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH 
IN  AMERICA." 


BY 

Rev.  WILLIAM  K.  FRICK,  D.  D., 

Pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer,  Milwaukee. 


"He  never  trifled  with  a  duty."— Dr.  IV.  J.  Mann. 

"The  Lutheran  Church  in  this  country  is  his  en- 
during mouument." — Dr.  E.  T.  Kretschmann. 


;    I  ^eCoSid  fHCUSlVI^D. 


PHILADELPHIA,  PA.! 
LUTHERAN  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY. 


^38. II 


V^^^j> 


Copyright,  1902, 

BY 

The  Lutheran  Publication  Society. 


NOTE.— Muhle^b^r^*^  (jfe%trqh^  wj^re.^it  'Philadelphia 
(and  Germantow^.);  UI^\JVt^K)S/islence;(7'  TheiTrappe  "), 
and  New  Hanover* C"T1iS  3w&tTip»"').  '  The  Swedish 
"  Gloria  Dei  "  ^^•at»  y\(«i«;a^,,  «ow  in  Philadelphia. 


Cbc  ifiatriarcb  /Iftubtenberg. 


CONTENTS. 

I.— IN  TRAINING.     1711-1742. 

PAGE 

Chapter  I. — The  Hanoverian  Youth  ...      5 

Chapter  II. — Student  Life 12 

Chapter  III. — Teacher  and  Pastor  .  .  .  .19 
Chapter  IV.— The  Emigrant  ....         26 

Chapter  V. — In  the  South. 36 

Chapter  VI. — A  Sheaf  of  Dates     ....         44 

II.—''  PLANTING  THE  CHURCH." 

1742-1748. 

Chapter  I. — Getting  Possession  of  the  Vineyard  .  52 
Chapter  II. — Setting  Things  to  Rights   ...        61 

Chapter  III. — Co-laborers  in  the  Vineyard        .  .     72 

Chapter  IV. — Grubbing  and  Pruning    .        .  .83 

Chapter  V. — Nurturing  the  Tender  Vines         .  .     91 

Chapter  VI. — CUisters  of  Ripe  Grapes    .        .  .      102 

Chapter  VII. — Exploring  a  Neglected  Corner  .  .  109 

Chapter  VIIL — Building  the  Hedges    .        .  .114 

III.— ''THE  CARE  OF  ALL  THE 

CHURCHES."     1748-1776. 

Chapter  I. — First  President  of  the  First  American 

Synod 123 

Chapter  II. — Among  the  Lutherans  of  New  York  133 
Chapter  III. — Years  of  Tribulation  ....  145 
Chapter  IV. — Philadelphia  Labors  and  Friendships  155 
Chapter  V.—''  The  End  Crowns  the  Work  "     .        .168 

(iii) 


IV  CONTENTS. 


IV.— IN  RETIREMENT.     1776-1787. 

Chapter  I.— During  the  War  of  1776  .  .  .176 
Chapter  II. — Light  at  Eventide  ....  184 
Chapter  III.— In  Memoriam 189 

** From  THE  Cradle  TO  THE  Grave"  .   .  195 


HENRY  MELGHIOR  MUHLENBERG. 


I.-IN  TRAINING.    1711-1742. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE    HANOVERIAN   YOUTH. 

The  Pennsylvania  Call — Religious  Destitution  in  North 
America — Sources  of  this  Biography — IMuhlenberg's 
Ancestry  and  Birth — Death  of  his  Father — Hard 
Work — Spiritual  Diagnosis.     (1711-1731.) 

Also  T  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  saying,  Whom  shall  I  send,  and 
who  will  go  for  us?    Then  said  I,  Here  am  I ;  send  me. — Isaiah  vi.  8. 

It  is  good  for  a  man  that  he  bear  the  yoke  in  his  youth.— Lam.  iii.  27. 

On  the  sixth  of  September,  1741,  more  than 
one  hundred  and  sixty  years  ago,  two  clergymen, 
at  Slipper  in  Halle,  Germany,  had  a  conversation 
which  entirely  changed  the  career  of  the  younger 
man,  and  still  powerfully  affects  the  course  of 
things  in  the  Lutheran  Church  of  America. 

The  elder  speaker  was  the  second  Dr.  Francke, 
Director  of  the  world-renowned  Halle  Orphan 
House.  This  institution  was  at  that  time  the 
great  centre  of  missionary  activity  in  the  Luth- 
eran Church  of  Europe.  To  it  had  come  the 
appeal  for  missionaries  to  lay  the  foundations  of 
(5) 


6  HENRY  MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

Protestant  and  Lutheran  missions  in  India,  and  it 
had  supplied  two  worthy  men  in  the  persons  of 
Ziegenbalg  and  Pliitschau. 

To  it  the  West  was  now  looking  with  equally 
anxious  eyes.  Francke  and  the  Lutheran  court 
chaplain,  Ziegenhagen,  of  London,  had  for  seven 
years  been  in  correspondence  with  the  German 
Lutherans  of  Pennsylvania  with  reference  to  a 
spiritual  shepherd,  and  several  delegations  had 
visited  Europe  to  press  upon  the  Mother-Church 
the  duty  of  caring  for  these  neglected  children  of 
the  New  World. 

In  an  open  letter  to  a  clergyman  in  Hanover, 
Dr.  Ziegenhagen  copied  this  description  of  the 
destitution  in  Pennsylvania  in  1733  : 

' '  We  live  in  a  country  that  is  full  of  heresy  and 
sects.  As  far  as  our  religious  interests  are  con- 
cerned, w^e  are  in  a  state  of  the  greatest  destitu- 
tion ;  and  our  own  means  are  utterly  insufficient 
to  effect  the  necessary  rehef.  ...  It  is  truly 
lamentable  to  think  of  the  large  numbers  of  the 
rising  generation  who  know  not  their  right  hand 
from  their  left ;  and,  unless  help  be  promptly  af- 
forded, the  danger  is  great  that,  in  consequence  of 
the  great  lack  of  churches  and  schools,  the  most 
of  them  will  be  led  into  the  ways  of  destructive 
error. ' ' 

Five  years  later  the  Pennsylvanians  wrote : 
''There  is  not  one  German  Lutheran  preacher  in 
the  whole  land  except  Casper  Stoever,  now  sixty 
miles  distant  from  Philadelphia" — in  Lancaster 
County.  They  were  mistaken  ;  but  the  preachers 
were,  in  fact,  few,  and  not  one  of  them  had  the 
loftiness  of  character  to  command  the  confidence 
of  the  Lutheran  dispersion,  or  the  breadth  of  view 
to  grasp  the  situation  and  bring  order  out  of  most 
lamentable  confusion. 


THE   HANOVERIAN   YOUTH.  7 

Three  congregations  of  about  five  hundred  com- 
municants each,  in  and  near  Philadelphia,  were 
clamoring  for  a  pastor ;  yet,  though  so  strong  in 
numbers,  they  hesitated  to  pledge  a  fixed  salary. 
Francke  had  his  ' '  doubts  about  sending  a  good 
man  to  America  upon  such  an  uncertainty. ' '  One 
thing,  however,  was  clear  to  him  :  the  conditions 
in  sect-ridden  Pennsylvania  called  for  "a  man  of 
solid,  commanding  character. "  "  And  where, ' ' 
asks  Francke,  ' '  can  we  find  such  a  man  ? ' ' 

This  evening,  as  the  conversation  drifted  from 
Halle  to  India,  and  from  India  to  America,  the 
Lord  opened  Francke' s  eyes.  He  turned  to  his 
guest  with  some  such  c[uery  as  this  :  ' '  Will  you 
go  as  missionary  to  the  scattered  Lutherans  in 
Pennsylvania, ' '  adding,  ' '  for  a  -few  years  on 
trial?" 

The  young  pastor' s  instant  reply  was,  ' '  If  it  is 
the  wdll  of  God,  I  not  only  will  but  must  go  where 
Providence  points  the  way." 

Who  and  what  was  this  prompt  and  decisive 
individual,  destined  in  the  providence  of  God 
to  write  his  name  in  large  characters  across  the 
page  of  Eighteenth  Century  American  Lutheran- 
ism  ?  By  birth  and  baptism  Heinrich  Melchior 
Muehlenberg,  he  is  known  and  honored  in  Ameri- 
can history  as 

Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg, 

Patriarch  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America, 

It  happened  to  be  his  thirtieth  birthday  on 
which  this  momentous  decision  was  reached.  For 
his  early  life  we  have  an  autobiography,  entitled 
' '  Observations  upon  the  Love,  Goodness,  Mercy, 


8  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

Long-suffering,  Patience,  and  Forbearance  of  God, 
Shown,  for  the  Sake  of  Christ  the  Saviour  of  the 
World,  Toward  a  Single  Condemned  Sinner  up  to 
his  Seventieth  Year." 

This  narrative,  v/ritten  after  his  retirement  from 
active  missionary  and  pastoral  work,  breaks  off 
with  his  first  year  in  the  New  World.  Its  place 
is  admirably  supplied  by  the  minute  Reports  to 
the  Reverend  Fathers  at  Halle,  reprinted  in  their 
entirety  in  1787  in  Germany,  and  republished  in 
this  country  in  1884  in  two  stout  volumes,  entitled 
''Hallesche  Nachrichten, "  with  notes  by  Drs. 
Mann  and  Schmucker.  They  are  a  perfect  mine 
of  accurate  and  interesting  information. 

With  the  additional  aid  of  T^Iuhlenberg's  numer- 
ous diaries  and  letters,  neatly  written,  and  rever- 
ently preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  Orphan 
House  at  Halle,  Dr.  William  J.  Mann  has,  in  a 
most  painstaking  way,  wrought  out  the  standard 
"Life  and  Times  of  Henry  j\Ielchior  Muehlen- 
berg,"  published  October  7th,  1887,  on  the  cen- 
tenary of  the  Patriarch's  death.  To  it  we  are 
constantly  indebted  for  facts  and  quotations. 

This  simple  narrative  is  designed  for  the  youth 
of  the  Church.  Besides  encouraging  them  to  lead 
useful  Christian  lives,  and  teaching  them  at  what 
a  cost  the  foundations  of  our  American  Church 
■were  laid,  it  will  enable  them  the  better  to  sympa- 
thize with  the  struggling  home  and  foreign  mis- 
sionaries of  our  Church  to-day. 

To  the  pastor  who  may  glance  through  these 
pages  it  will  present,  as  far  as  joossible  in  the  Pa- 
triarch's own  w^ords,  a  sketch  of  a  model  pastor,  a 
successful  missionary,  and  a  conservative  American 
Church  leader,  who  dominated  his  century. 

Muhlenberg  was  born  September  6th,  1711,  in 


THE  HANOVERIAN   YOUTH.  9 

the  town  of  Eimbeck — now  spelled  Einbeck — in 
the  electorate  of  Hanover,  since  absorbed  by  Prus- 
sia. This  manufacturing  town  (of  twelve  thousand 
inhabitants  at  that  time)  is  situated  on  a  tributary 
of  the  Elbe  in  northwestern  German)^  The  sur- 
roundings are  unromantic  :  neighboring  hills  ob- 
scure the  view  of  the  bolder  Hartz  Mountains 
toward  the  South.  The  house  in  which  Muhlen- 
berg was  born  was  consumed  in  the  fire  of 
1826. 

On  the  day  of  his  birth  he  was  inducted  into 
the  kingdom  of  grace  by  the  Sacrament  of  Holy 
Baptism.  His  father  was  Nicolaus  IMelchior  ;  his 
mother,  Anna  Mary  Kleinschmid,  daughter  of  a 
retired  German  army  officer.  His  middle  name, 
Melchior,  is  the  name  given  in  the  legends  of  the 
Middle  Ages  to  one  of  the  three  Wise  Men  (Matt, 
ii.  1,  11).  Venerable  Bede  says  that  Melchior 
was  an  old  man  with  a  long  white  beard,  and  was 
the  one  who  carried  the  gold  offered  to  the  infant 
Jesus.  Our  IMelchior  came  to  resemble  him 
(minus  the  beard),  and  brought  to  his  Lord  what 
was  better  far  than  gold — precious  souls. 

From  a  hint  given  in  the  baptismal  record  there 
is  a  possibility  that  Nicolaus  was  a  descendant  of 
the  noble  family  of  Von  jMuehlenbergs,  who  once 
lived  at  Muehlenberg  ("Muehlen"  =  mills; 
"berg"  =  hill;  "Muehlberg,"  or  "Muehlen- 
berg," =  "mills  on  a  hill")  in  Prussian  Saxony. 
The  family  lost  its  possessions  in  the  wars  of  the 
Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Centuries.  Nicolaus' 
only  patent  of  nobility  now  Avas  honest  labor. 

He  was  honored  with  a  place  in  the  town  coun- 
cil and  with  the  position  of  deacon  in  the  Lutheran 
Church  of  Eimbeck.  His  pious  inclinations  are 
seen  in  his  naming  one  son  John  Arndt,  after  the 
author  of   the  great   Lutheran  devotional   book, 


10  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

*'True  Christianity."  The  father  vras  stricken 
with  apoplexy,  and  died  suddenly,  soon  after 
Henry's  confirmation,  in  1723,  leaving  a  large 
family,  a  small  estate,  and  an  honored  nam.e.  His 
widow  lived  to  see  Henry  in  the  ministry,  and 
died  in  1747,  some  years  after  his  departure  to 
America. 

From  seven  to  twelve  his  father  sent  him  to  the 
German  and  Latin  school  of  the  town.  At  twelve 
he  was  admitted  by  the  rite  of  confirmation  to  the 
Holy  Communion.  During  the  catechetical  in- 
struction and  at  his  father's  death  he  Avas  deeply 
impressed  with  divine  truth,  and  his  conscience 
was  awakened  to  his  relations  to  God.  His  holy 
resolutions  were,  alas !  ' '  more  and  more  smothered, 
because  father  was  dead  and  mother  was  too  yield- 
ing, the  allurements  to  evil  too  seductive,  and  evil 
example  too  strong. ' '  This  is  the  lamentation  of 
the  mature  Christian  over  years  of  spiritual  bar- 
renness. ' '  There  is  nothing  worse  than  when 
half-grown  boys  are  allowed  to  run  with  other 
boys  of  their  age  without  any  oversight.  One 
rowdy  in  such  a  crowd  can  poison  all  the 
rest.'' 

We  need  not  think  of  the  grossest  sins,  then  or 
later  ;  but  it  is  plain  that  the  boy  Muhlenberg  had 
to  run  the  gauntlet  of  temptation  that  assails  all 
boys.  That  he  kept  his  ' '  hands  clean, ' '  that  is, 
lived  an  outwardly  moral  life,  is  certain  from  the 
friends  he  made  ;  but,  in  his  own  opinion,  he  did 
not  keep  a  ^ '  pure  heart, ' '  nor  preserve  the  fresh-* 
ness  of  his  early  love  of  God.  Of  that  early 
love,  Dr.  Mann  thinks  he  finds  evidence  in  some 
short  rhymes  in  Muhlenberg's  handwriting.  They 
refer  to  the  healing  of  the  man  with  the  withered 
hand  (Matt.  xii.  10-13). 


THE   HANOVERIAN   YOUTH.  ll 

"  Two  hands,  both  fresh  and  strong,  did  my  Creator  give ; 
They  shall  not  idle  be,  as  long  as  I  may  live ; 
First  I  will  raise  them  up  to  God  to  praise  and  pray. 
And  then  they  may  begin  what  labor  brings  each  day  ; 
In  truth,  I'll  ne'er' forget  the  Ora, 
And  with  it,  hand-in-hand,  I'll  practice  the  Labora,** 

In  after  years  he  was  proficient  enough  in  Latin 
to  address  sy nodical  meetings  in  that  tongue,  and 
he  more  than  once  indulged  in  sacred  poetry. 

He  had  abundant  opportunity  to  put  the  motto, 
^'Ora  et  labora ^^ — ''  Pray  and  labor'' — into  prac- 
tice. From  the  time  of  his  father's  death  up  to 
his  eighteenth  year  he  assisted  his  brothers  at  their 
trade.  He  was  learning  in  this  school  of  reality 
and  poverty  lessons  of  humility,  industry,  and  re- 
spect for  honest  manhood  that  stood  him  in  better 
stead  in  the  Western  wilderness  than  a  title  and  a 
fortune  would  have  done. 

That  the  student  and  preacher  was  stirring  in 
this  Hanoverian  lad  is  evidenced  by  the  diligent 
use  he  made  of  every  moment  he  could  snatch  for 
his  books,  and  by  some  bojdsh  efforts  at  preach- 
ing carried  on  in  the  barn. 


CHAPTER   11. 


STUDENT   LIFE. 


Classical  and  Musical  Studies — Leaves  Home — Student 
and  Tutor  at  Zellerfeld — Latin  Prose — Beneficiary  Stu- 
dent at  the  University  of  Goettingen — Temptations — 
Spiritual  Awakening  —  Dr.  Oporin's  Amanuensis  — 
Noble  Friendships  —  Theological  Studies  —  Charity 
School— Preaches— Graduates.     (1732-1738. ) 

The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom  and  the  knowledge 
of  the  Holy  is  ucderbtauding  — Prov  ix.  10. 

My  son,  if  sinners  entice  thee,  consent  thou  not. — Pkov.  i.  10. 

At  last  his  perseverance  won  recognition.  He 
was  granted  the  undisturbed  use  of  his  evenings 
for  study.  Rector  Schuesster,  of  the  local  acad- 
emy, became  interested  in  the  studious  youth, 
gave  him  private  instruction,  and  finally  admitted 
him  to  the  highest  class.  The  boys  of  the  school 
did  not  relish  having  this  big  fellow  promoted 
over  their  heads,  nor,  we  may  be  sure,  was  it 
quite  to  Muhlenberg's  taste  to  be  classed  with 
boys  so  much  younger.  However,  he  threw  him- 
self ardently  into  the  study  of  mathematics,  Latin, 
and  Greek.  Besides,  he  showed  a  talent  for 
music,  both  vocal  and  instrumental.  In  order  to 
pay  his  way  he  Avas  not  ashamed  to  take  his  i)lace, 
like  Luther,  in  the  boy  choir  that  sang  in  front  of 
the  houses  of  the  leading  citizens.  His  tenor 
voice  was  much  admired.  He  also  learned  to 
play  on  the  clavichord — the  forerunner  of  the 
])iano — and  the  organ,  and  made  three  unsuccess- 
ful attempts  to  obtain  a  place  as  organist.  His 
(12) 


STUDENT   LIFE.  13 

skill  in  music,  combined  with  his  courteous  and 
dignified  bearing,  was  to  open  many  a  door  for  him 
in  Germany,  and  much  more  in  the  American 
*' wilderness,"  where  he  in  fact  supported  himself 
for  the  first  half-year  ])y  giving  music  lessons. 

His  spiritual  life,  however,  seems,  during  this 
period,  to  have  been  at  a  standstill.  How  was  it 
possible,  he  asks,  to  read  so  many  heathen  authors 
(while  learning  Latin  and  Greek),  without  im- 
bibing many  a  heathenish  notion?  So,  tossed 
about  between  hope  and  fear,  success  and  disap- 
pointment, he  entered  his  twenty-second  year  with 
a  mind  hungering  for  knowledge  and  the  future 
all  a  dull  blank.  Like  hundreds  of  American 
boys  who  have  gone  from  the  bench  or  the  plow 
to  the  college,  he  had  a  sound  mind  in  a  sound 
and  vigorous  body,  and  once  fairly  started  on  an 
educational  career  he  made  rapid  progress. 

He  now  left  home  to  make  his  way  in  the  wide, 
wide  world.  He  first  tried  Clausthal,  over  in  the 
Hartz  Mountains,  but,  though  he  spent  several 
weeks  looking  for  employment,  nothing  offered 
there.  Then  on  to  Zellerfeld,  east  of  Eimbeck,  where 
there  was  a  classical  school  of  high  grade.  Rector 
Raphael  examined  him,  and  agreed  to  receive 
him  if  he  would  consent  to  forego  singing  in  the 
choir  and  stick  to  his  books  ! 

How  was  he  to  live  ?  See  the  hand  of  God  in 
his  affairs  !  The  student  became  a  teacher.  A 
class  of  eighteen  children  from  the  mountains 
was  made  up.  He  taught  them  four  hours  a  day 
in  the  Catechism,  writing,  arithmetic,  and  playing 
on  the  clavichord.  He  also  gave  some  private  les- 
sons in  the  evening.  Thereby  he  certainly  earned 
his  board  and  tuition,  and  at  the  same  time  took 
another  step  forward  in  his  providential  prepara- 
tion for  his  Ufe-work.     In  fact,  this  biography  will 


14  HENRY  MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

exhibit  Muhlenberg  as  one  who  was  specially- 
fond  of  catechisation,  and  specially  gifted  in  that 
method  of  imparting  knowledge. 

During  the  eighteen  months  spent  at  Zellerfeld, 
in  1733  and  1734,  he  mastered  a  list  of  books  such 
as  Freshmen  and  Sophomores  delight  in,  namely, 
Caesar,  Virgil,  Horace,  Terence,  the  Epistles  and 
Orations  of  Cicero,  etc.  He  also  studied  New  Tes- 
tament Greek,  and  acquired  the  elements  of  the 
Hebrew  and  Greek  languages,  so  that  he  was  ex- 
ceptionally strong  in  the  department  of  languages. 

His  modest  demeanor  won  him  friends  among 
the  richer  students,  who  were  glad  to  open  their 
homes  to  the  bright  young  tutor.  To  curry  favor 
with  them  and  to  repay  their  kindness,  he  would 
entertain  them  with  all  sorts  of  abominations 
drawn  from  classical  sources.  This  coming  to  the 
Rector's  ears,  Muhlenberg  received  some  fatherly 
advice,  not  without  good  effect. 

Home  again  in  the  fall  of  1734,  he  set  about  re- 
viewing his  studies,  taking  up  also  Latin  prose  com- 
position under  Rector  Schuesster,  little  dreaming 
that  he  would  find  abundant  use  for  it  among  the 
German  dispersion  in  far-off  America  !  Rector 
Raphael  wrote  to  him  :  "  Go  to  some  university." 
Where  ?  How  ?  Now,  that  very  winter,  the  TJni- 
versity  of  Goettingen  was  opened.  Eimbeck  had 
a  scholarship  good  for  a  year's  free  board  and  tui- 
tion. The  city  fathers,  perhaps  partly  out  of  respect 
for  his  father's  memory,  oft'ered  the  use  of  it  to 
their  talented  young  townsman.  ' '  In  this  way, ' ' 
he  records  in  his  Autobiography,  ''  did  God,  out  of 
pure  compassion,  make  provision  for  my  temporal 
wants."  His  widowed  mother  gave  him  what 
assistance  she  could,  no  doubt  stinting  herself 
greatly  for  his  benefit,  and  so,  T>Iarch  19th,  1735, 
he   started,  as   a  "beneficiary,"  for   Goettingen, 


STUDENT    LIFE.  15 

and  matriculated  among  the  earliest  students  of 
that  now  famous  university. 

Now  we  are  to  see  him  as  a  university  student, 
away  from  home,  thrown  into  close  contact  with 
a  herd  of  fellow-students  bent  on  mischief.  A 
new  and  dangerous  step,  he  calls  this,  for  a 
young  fellow  with  darkened  understanding,  per- 
verted and  unregulated  desires — with  a  sword  dan- 
gling by  his  side — a  man  who  had  all  his  life 
heard  nothing  else  but  that  one  strives  for  bread, 
honor,  etc.,  and  that  at  schools  and  universities 
a  fellow  must  have  ' '  a  lively  time. ' '  He  says  that 
he  was  drawn  into  being  present  at  one  or  two 
frolics,  but  withdrew  in  time  on  hearing  that  an- 
other crowd  of  students  had  one  night  in  a  drunken 
brawl  killed  a  watchman. 

His  riper  years — he  was  now  twenty-four — his 
good  common-sense,  but,  much  more,  the  mercy 
of  God,  rescued  him  from  these  temptations. 
Grace,  which,  despite  his  severe  judgment  of  his 
youthful  life,  had  never  been  completely  resisted 
— grace,  which  had  restrained  him  from  many  a 
sin,  and  disposed  him  to  give  heed  to  serious  coun- 
sel— divine  grace  was  now  triumphant. 

Muhlenberg  had  mapped  out  for  himself  a  pro- 
gramme that  included  Logic,  Hebrew,  and  Greek, 
pure  Mathematics,  and  the  History  of  Literature. 
Meanwhile  Rev.  Dr.  Oporin  joined  the  faculty  as 
Professor  of  Dogmatics  and  Ethics.  IMuhlenberg 
heard  his  very  first  lecture  in  Ethics  on  the  un- 
speakable corruption  of  the  unregenerate  heart. 
It  proved  the  means  of  his  spiritual  awakening 
from  the  spiritual  torpor  of  his  college  days. 
"  By  the  lectures  of  Dr.  Oporin,"  he  remarks,  ^'  on 
the  total  corruption  of  our  nature,  I  was  much 
moved,  and  so  convinced  of  my  sinfulness,  that  I 
loathed  myself  on   account  of  my  folly.     I  was 


16  HENRY  MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

convinced,  by  the  Word  of  God,  that  up  to  this 
period  my  understanding  had  been  dark  in  spirit- 
ual things  ;  that  my  will  was  disinclined  to  that 
new  life  which  proceeds  from  God  ;  that  my  mem- 
ory had  been  employed  only  in  collecting  carnal 
things,  my  imagination  in  discovering  sinful  ob- 
jects for  the  gratification  of  my  perverted  affec- 
tions, and  my  members  by  habitual  use  had  be- 
come weapons  of  unrighteousness.  But  as  I 
learned  to  recognize  sin  as  sin,  there  followed  sor- 
row, repentance,  hatred  of  it — shame  and  humil- 
iation on  account  of  it — hunger  and  thirst  for  the 
righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  this  state  of 
mind  I  was  directed  to  the  crucified  Jesus,  who  had 
been  wounded  for  my  transgressions  and  bruised 
for  my  iniquities.  The  wounds  of  Jesus  healed 
my  wounds  ;  the  merits  of  His  death  gave  me 
life  ;  my  thirst  was  quenched  in  Him,  the  living 
spring."  Would  that  all  college  and  university 
men  learned  to  know  themselves  and  their  Saviour 
as  well  as  Muhlenberg  did.  Providentially  three 
Eimbeck  youths  came  to  the  university  from  the 
Halle  Orphan  House.  Their  words  and  example 
showed  him  what  a  truly  upright  Christian  life 
should  be.  And  Dr.  Oporin's  exemplary  life  con- 
firmed the  pure  doctrine  he  taught,  according  to 
his  favorite  motto,  ''Where  the  life  is  lightning, 
the  doctrine  is  thunder." 

Muhlenberg,  who  had  evidently  long  had  the 
ministry  in  view,  also  attended  Dr.  Oporin's  lec- 
tures on  Dogmatics  and  Homiletics  (doctrine  and 
preaching).  This  led  to  another  important  step. 
He  became  the  Doctor's  private  secretary,  with 
free  board  and  room.  He  was  thus  admitted  to 
the  privilege  of  the  table  conversation  of  his  pre- 
ceptor, and  to  an  acquaintance  with  a  circle  of 
worthy  friends  of  higher  social  standing.    No  man 


STUDENT    LIFE.  17 

knew  better  how  to  profit  by  such  advantages. 
Muhlenberg  was  a  sociable  man,  and  shone  in  con- 
versation and  argument.  A  memento  of  his  con- 
nection with  Dr.  Oporin  is  still  preserved  in  the 
Muhlenberg  family  in  the  shape  of  a  Bible  pre- 
sented by  the  Doctor  to  his  former  amanuensis  in 
1738.  It  contains  the  Scriptures  in  Hebrew  and 
Greek,  with  a  Latin  interlinear  translation.  In 
1786  he  gave  it  to  his  son,  Henry  Ernest. 

Muhlenberg's  virtues  and  diligence  attracted  the 
favorable  notice  of  Herr  von  Muenchhausen,  High 
Sheriff  of  Hanover,  who  secured  him  a  scholarship 
for  the  remainder  of  his  three  years'  course.  This 
was  but  another  illustration  of  the  proverb  that 
"  A  good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  riches 
and  loving  favor  than  silver  and  gold."  He  also 
won  the  friendship  of  some  pious  noblemen  at- 
tending the  university,  such  as  the  Count  of 
Wernigerode  and  Count  Reuss. 

His  new  friends  soon  had  an  opportunity  to 
show  their  good-will.  INIuhlenberg's  piety  was  of 
a  practical  character.  His  energies  must  find  an 
outlet  in  doing  good.  What  he  did  for  money  at 
Zellerfeld  he  can  do  for  Christ  at  Goettingen.  So, 
associating  with  him  two  other  theological  stu- 
dents, Muhlenberg  gathered  the  '' street  Arabs" 
of  Goettingen,  rented  a  room,  secured  books,  and 
devoted  his  spare  time  to  teaching  the  ' '  three 
R's,"  not  forgetting  the  Catechism.  This  was 
nearly  half  a  century  before  Robert  Raikes  began 
his  Sunday  school  work  among  the  gamins  of 
Gloucester,  England.  When  objection  was  made, 
Count  Reuss  handed  the  case  over  to  his  lawyer, 
also  a  Christian.  The  movement  now  received  of- 
ficial sanction,  and  was  put  under  the  supervision 
of  the  theological  faculty.  Out  of  this  charity 
school,  begun  by  our  American  Patriarch  in  his 
2 


18  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

student  days,  in  1736,  grew  the  Goettingen  Orphan 
House,  still  existing.  Had  the  Lord  called  him 
from  earth  before  his  theological  training  was 
complete,  he  would  not  have  lived  in  vain. 

In  1737  he  was  enrolled  among  the  students 
who  were  permitted  to  preach  in  the  University- 
Church,  and  to  catechise  there  from  week  to  week. 
This  year  also  he  was  invited  by  Count  Reuss  to 
dehver  BibUcal  addresses  before  a  number  of 
noblemen  and  others,  who  gathered  in  the  count's 
rooms,  for  the  upbuilding  of  their  spiritual  life. 

His  course  in  theology  was  rounded  out  by  lec- 
tures on  the  Symbolical  Books,  which  set  forth  in  a 
learned  and  devout  way  what  the  Lutheran  Church 
believes  and  preaches,  and  consist  of  the  Three 
General  Creeds  (the  Apostles',  the  Nicene,  and  the 
Athanasian);  the  Augsburg  Confession  and  its 
Apology  ;  the  Schmalcald  Articles  ;  the  two  Cat- 
echisms of  Luther  (Small  and  Large);  and  the 
Formula  of  Concord. 

With  such  a  fund  of  knowledge  and  experience, 
and  with  these  warm  friendships,  Muhlenberg, 
though  somewhat  advanced  in  years — he  was  now 
in  his  twenty-seventh  year — stood  on  the  threshold 
of  life,  ''A  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be 
ashamed/' 


CHAPTER  III. 

TEACHER   AND   PASTOR. 

Jewish  "Work  Considered — Jena  University — Fifteen 
Months  at  Halle  Orphanage  as  Teacher — Acquires  Med- 
ical Knowledge — Thoughts  of  the  India  Field — Two 
Years'  Pastorate  at  Grosshennersdorf — Business  Train- 
ing— Controversial  Pamphlet — A  Chain  of  Providences. 
(1738-1741.) 

Feed  my  lambs    ....    Feed  my  sheep.— John  xxi.  15, 16. 

They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament : 
and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars,  for  ever  and 
ever. — Daniel  xii.  3, 

Here  we  note  a  new  link  in  the  chain  of  provi- 
dences. Through  his  noble  friends  Muhlenberg 
became  acquainted  with  two  missionaries,  who 
were  laboring  for  the  conversion  of  the  Jews.  En- 
couraged by  his  patron,  Count  Reuss,  to  prepare 
for  Jewish  work,  he  was  minded  to  enter  Prof. 
Callenberg's  Jewish  Institute,  at  Halle,  but, 
strange  to  say,  was  commended  by  the  count  to 
Dr.  Francke,  of  the  Orphan  House. 

Before  he  finally  settled  down  to  work  at  Halle, 
he  spent  some  time  at  the  University  of  Jena, 
visited  the  homes  of  his  noble  patrons,  and 
preached  at  Eimbeck.  His  sermons  in  his  native 
place  awakened  many  souls  and  brought  them  to 
him  for  spiritual  conversation.  It  would  have 
been  no  mistake  had  he  accepted  either  of  two 
churches  whose  pulpits  were  offered  to  him,  but 
the  Lord  had  him  in  training  for  larger  things  than 
mere  parish  work. 

(19) 


20  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MXHILENBERG. 

At  Halle  he  was  at  the  headquarters  of  Pietism, 
that  spiritual  movement  in  the  Lutheran  Church 
of  Germany,  begun  by  Spener  in  the  Seventeenth 
Century,  and  fostered  by  the  elder  Francke  in  the 
Eighteenth.  On  its  healthier  side  it  stood  for  a 
living  faith  and  a  holy  life,  with  a  devout  use  of 
the  Word  and  constant  communion  with  God. 
Its  noblest  fruit  is  the  Orphan  House  at  Halle, 
a  group  of  institutions  in  which  over  a  hundred 
thousand  pupils  have  been  educated  and  from 
which  missionaries  and  Bibles  have  gone  forth  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth. 

Muhlenberg's  coming  to  Halle  determined  the 
whole  future  course  of  his  life,  and  gave  him  that 
large  interest  in  the  affairs  of  God's  kingdom 
which  fitted  him  to  mould  the  fortunes  of  the 
Church  in  America.  Not  only  was  his  personal 
piety  quickened  by  contact  with  the  life  and  spirit 
of  the  institution,  but  here  he  touched  every 
phase  of  Christian  activity  for  the  redemption  of 
fallen  humanity,  and  widened  his  spiritual  horizon 
until  it  embraced  alike  the  venerable  nations  of 
the  remote  East  and  the  struggling  settlements  of 
the  remote  West. 

Here  Muhlenberg  remained  from  May,  1738,  to 
June,  1739.  The  university  graduate  and  com- 
panion of  noblemen  was  given  a  thorough  spirit- 
ual test.  Francke  set  him  to  teach  the  smallest 
children.  As  he  showed  no  pride  and  was  faith- 
ful, he  was  promoted  by  rapid  steps  to  the  teach- 
ing of  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  theology  in  the  upper 
classes.  And  thus  what  he  had  gotten  as  a  stu- 
dent was  clinched  by  his  having  to  impart  it  to 
others,  and  remained  a  firm  and  ready  possession 
through  all  the  laborious  3'ears  of  his  after  life. 

We  have  seen  how  he  acquired  facility  in  lan- 
guages and  music.     Now  he  was  to  acquire  some 


TEACHER  AND   PASTOR.  21 


knowledge  of  the  healing  art.  As  "inspector," 
or  superintendent,  of  the  sick  ward,  he  picked  up 
many  hints  on  diseases  and  medicine,  which  en- 
abled him  to  give  simple  medical  aid  and  dispense 
the  Halle  medicines  to  his  Pennsylvania  parish- 
ioners, without,  however,  pretending  to  be  a  doctor. 

The  Halle  Orphanage  had  the  recipes  for  several 
proprietary  medicines.  They  were  extensively 
advertised,  and  a  thick  book  was  issued  in  connec- 
tion with  them  that  practically  enabled  every  man 
to  be  his  own  doctor.  A  large  and  lucrative  trade 
was  built  up,  not  only  in  Germany,  but  in  America 
as  well.  Long  before  Muhlenberg  thought  of  em- 
igrating to  Pennsylvania,  these  medicines  were 
sold  by  the  printer,  Sauer,  in  Germantown,  and 
Halle  Bibles,  too.  The  loss  of  much  of  his  trade 
in  both  these  articles  when  the  Halle  pastors  be- 
gan to  work  in  Pennsylvania,  and  to  act  as  agents 
for  the  medical  and  literary  output  of  the  Orphan 
House,  did  not  a  little  to  embitter  this  sectarian 
printer  against  Muhlenberg  and  his  colleagues. 

But  we  anticipate.  Muhlenberg  was  still  in 
training.  Cellarius  was  his  best  friend  here,  cor- 
recting his  faults  in  private,  and  advising  him 
with  reference  to  his  future.  When  he  was  urged 
to  return  to  the  charity  school  at  Goettingen,  Cel- 
larius confided  to  him  that  the  Reverend  Fathers 
had  selected  him  for  the  new  Bengal  mission  field. 
His  mind  seems  to  have  been  wedded  to  this  plan. 
There  was  delay  in  the  correspondence  with  Den- 
mark and  England.  Meanwhile  his  dear  friend 
Count  Reuss  sent  a  pressing  call  to  Grosshenners- 
dorf,  a  town  in  Upper  Lusatia,  in  the  northeastern 
corner  of  Saxony.  Muhlenberg  was  troubled  with 
doubts  about  accepting,  and  would  only  agree  for 
the  present  to  visit  the  new  field  and  await  de- 
velopments.    In   his    absence   imperative   letters 


22  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

came,  and  other  men  had  to  be  sent  without  delay. 
Had  these  letters  come  three  weeks  sooner  Muhl- 
enberg might  have  been  the  forerunner  and  co- 
laborer  of  Christian  Frederick  Schwartz  in  India, 
but,  then,  who  would  have  cared  for  America? 
Thus  does  an  all-wise  heavenly  Father  overrule 
vexatious  delay  and  seeming  defeat  for  His  greater 
glory.  Muhlenberg  failed  to  get  an  organist's  po- 
sition, but  got  a  tutor's  ;  failed  to  get  his  training 
as  a  Jewish  missionary,  but  got  into  the  Halle 
Orphan  House  instead  ;  failed  to  go  to  East  India 
as  a  foreign  missionary,  and  was  sent  instead  to  a 
country  parish  in  Germany  :  but  each  step  brought 
him  nearer  his  life-work,  for  God  was  pointing 
out  the  way  and  he  was  following  the  indications 
of  an  overruling  Providence. 

On  the  borders  of  Bohemia,  and  not  far  from 
Hernnhut,  the  headquarters  of  Count  Zinzendorf 
and  Moravianism,  Muhlenberg  now  enters  on 
what  appears  to  be  his  life-work.  He  is  co-pastor 
of  the  parish  and  sole  inspector  of  the  Orphan 
House.  The  most  important  person  in  the  parish 
is  his  patroness,  the  pious  and  educated  Baroness 
of  Gersdorf,  Zinzendorf  s  aunt. 

The  necessity  for  ordination  led  to  a  visit  to 
Leipsic,  the  university  cit}^  of  Saxony.  His  ex- 
amination was  thoroughgoing.  It  covered  the 
exegesis  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  doctrines  con- 
cerning Christ,  regeneration,  and  justification,  and 
the  Symbolical  Books  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 
Muhlenberg  having  satisfactorily  stood  the  test, 
Rev.  Dr.  DeyHng,  the  Superintendent  (equivalent 
to  president  or  bishop),  on  August  24th,  1739,  or- 
dained him  as  Deacon,  in  the  presence  of  the 
assembled  ministers  of  the  city.  His  ordination 
certificate  bound  him  to  teach  according  to  the  re- 
vealed Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 


TEACHER   AND   PASTOR.  23 

and  the  S3'mbolical  Books  of  our  Church ;  and 
this  oath  he  kept  inviolate.  He  never  departed 
from  the  Lutheran  doctrine.  Here  he  stood  to 
his  dying  day  ;  he  could  not  do  otherwise.  He 
speaks  thus  modestly  of  his  admission  to  the  min- 
istry :  ' '  It  can  be  seen  ho\r  few  experienced  la- 
borers in  the  Lord's  vineyard  there  must  have 
been  that  a  mere  babe,  who  had  but  four  years 
before  seen  the  light  of  grace,  and  still  fed  on  the 
milk  of  the  Word,  should  be  called  and  ordained 
to  the  ministry." 

The  return  trip,  through  Halle  and  Hanover, 
Brandenburg  and  Saxony,  made  him  still  better 
acquainted  with  central  Germany.  Incidentally  he 
was  becoming  acquainted  with  the  various  church 
usages  and  liturgies  that  were  in  vogue  in  northern 
Germany,  and  acquiring  that  refinement  and  self- 
reliance  that  come  alone  through  travel  and  inter- 
course with  men. 

And  so,  Muhlenberg,  turned  aside  from  the 
Jewish  work  and  the  foreign  field,  settles  down  as 
a  village  pastor  in  a  town  of  but  two  thousand 
souls,  in  a  remote  corner  of  the  land.  Here,  too, 
the  Lord  gave  him  children  to  look  after.  There 
were  several  departments  in  the  Orphan  House. 
One  was  a  high  school  for  the  children  of  impov- 
erished noble  families  ;  another  contained  thirty- 
two  orphan  boys ;  a  third,  orphan  girls ;  and 
a  fourth,  aged  widows.  The  generous  baroness 
expended  S3000.00  a  year  out  of  her  private  purse 
on  this  blessed  charity.  Muhlenberg  spent  two 
years  in  this  field,  acquiring  at  the  same  time  a 
training  in  administration  and  accounts. 

Two  interesting  facts  may  be  mentioned  at  this 
point.  Muhlenberg  had  learned  some  English  at 
the  university.  At  Grosshennersdorf  he  ventured 
to  deliver  an  English  oration,  which  was  under- 


24  HENRY  MELCHIOR  MUHLENBERG. 

stood  by  just  one  other  man,  whose  English  was 
gotten  at  the  university  also.  Here,  too,  he  ap- 
peared as  an  author  for  the  only  time  in  his  life. 
Superintendent  Mentzer  had  issued  ' '  Words  of 
Warning  "  against  Pietism.  ^'D.  ]\I."  (Diaconus 
Tduehlenberg)  replied  in  a  pamphlet,  defending 
the  private  meetings  of  the  Pietists  as  called  for 
v/hen  the  regularly  appointed  pastors  neglect  the 
spiritual  interests  of  their  flocks.  One  sentence 
will  suffice  to  show  how  satirical  ''D.  M."  could 
be  :  "A  fire  cannot  be  put  out  with  paper,  even 
if  it  is  written  full  of  '  Words  of  Warning.'  " 

When,  owing  to  her  heavy  outlays,  the  baroness 
became  financially  involved,  a  call  reached  INIuhl- 
enberg  to  preach  in  a  vacant  pulpit.  He  would 
not  desert  his  post.  He  now  took  a  more  decisive 
step,  one  which  reflects  credit  on  his  generous 
heart.  He  resolved  to  return  to  Eimbeck,  in  or- 
der to  secure  part  of  his  inheritance  to  tide  over 
the  trouble.  It  was  while  following  the  prompt- 
ings of  his  unselfish  nature  that  he  passed  through 
Halle  at  the  very  time  when  the  Pennsylvania  call 
was  engaging  Francke's  mind.  In  the  light  of  all 
that  we  have  now  learned  concerning  Muhlenberg's 
spiritual  development  and  personal  inclination  to 
the  foreign  mission  work,  the  promptness  of  his 
reply  is  not  so  astonishing.  It  is,  however,  none 
the  less  creditable  to  his  character.  Humanly 
speaking,  wdth  such  patrons  as  he  had  among  the 
nobility,  honor  and  advancement  were  assured  to 
him  in  Germany.  He  might,  wdth  his  gifts  and 
thoroughness,  have  risen  to  the  head  of  the  Halle 
Orphan  House  or  have  filled  the  office  of  Super- 
intendent;  but,  as  Dr.  Mann  says,  ''He  never 
trifled  with  a  duty."  The  finger  of  God  plainly 
pointed  across  the  Atlantic  ;  across  the  Atlantic 
he  would  go. 


TEACHER  AND   PASTOR.  25 

In  all  Germany  there  was  not  a  fitter  man  than 
he  for  the  work.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  life  ; 
' '  not  a  novice, ' '  yet  not  too  old  to  be  transplanted 
to  another  soil ;  a  well-balanced  man  ;  robust  in 
body  and  acute  of  mind  ;  a  happy  combination 
of  the  self-made  man  and  the  university-bred 
scholar  ;  gifted  in  the  learning  of  languages  ;  a 
practical  man,  with  unusual  adaptability  to  all 
grades  and  situations  in  society  ;  withal,  a  Chris- 
tian of  the  best  type,  "fervent  in  spirit,"  and 
ready  to  serve  the  Lord  at  any  cost,  in  any  post — 
an  optimist,  whose  creed  was  :  ' '  The  Lord  of 
hosts  is  with  us  ;  the  God  of  Jacob  is  our  refuge." 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE    EMIGRANT. 

Terms  of  the  Call — A  Moment  of  Indecision — Farewell 
to  Mother — Petty  Persecution — A  Far-reaching  Vindi- 
cation— First  Lesrion  in  Dutch — The  German  Lutheran 
Churches  of  London — Three  IMonths  with  Ziegenhagen 
— The  American  Lutheran  Gown — '*  Doctor"  Muhlen- 
berg— ''In  Perils  in  the  Sea" — Salzburger  Emigrants 
—The  Chaplain's  Tact— The  First  English  Sermon— 
Eedeeming  the  Time.     (1741-1742. ) 

Now  the  Lord  God  had  said  unto  Abram,  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country, 
and  from  thy  kindred  and  from  thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I 
will  shew  thee. — Gen.  xii.  1. 

As  we  have  therefore  opportunitv,  let  us  do  good  unto  all  men, 
especially  unto  them  who  are  of  the  iiousehold  of  faith.— Gal.  vi.  10. 

The   formal   call   issued   by   Ziegenhagen  laid 
down  these  conditions  : 

1.  Muhlenberg  was  to  go  to  Pennsylvania  for 
three  years,  on  trial. 

2.  He  was   to   receive   his   traveling   expenses 
both  ways. 

3.  Expenses  and  salary  were  to  be  paid  out  of 
funds  collected  by  Ziegenhagen. 

4.  The  formal  call  was  to  be  extended  in  Lon- 
don. 

Muhlenberg  found  parting  painful.  Every  effort 
was  made  to  retain  him.  His  patrons  offered  him 
another  parish  in  case  he  felt  constrained  to  leave 
Grosshennersdorf.  Muhlenberg  was  much  cast 
down,  and,  as  in  every  emergency,  had  recourse 
to  prayer.  His  hesitation  did  not  spring  from 
any  unwillingness  to  make  the  sacrifice,  but  from 
(26) 


THE   EMIGRANT.  27 

sheer  uncertainty  as  to  his  duty.  His  friends 
tried  to  make  it  appear  that  he  had  acted  hastily. 
He  wrote  to  Francke,  and  enclosed  a  letter  to 
Ziegenhagen.  Francke  replied,  "  I  do  not  think 
it  expedient  to  forward  the  letter.  Make  up  your 
mind  in  one  way  or  the  other  soon.  If  you  de- 
cline the  Pennsylvania  call,  your  own  conscience 
will  have  to  answer  to  God  for  it."  Again,  "You 
had  better  accept  the  call.  It  is  easier  to  find  a 
man  for  Grosshennersdorf  than  for  America." 
That  settled  the  matter  for  Muhlenberg.  He 
would  give  up  the  easier  place  in  Christian  Ger- 
many, and  take  up  the  more  difficult  work  in 
distant,  wild  America.  December  17th,  1741,  he 
left  the  sheep  and  the  fold  at  Grosshennersdorf. 
His  farewell  sermon  was  based  on  Hosea  xi.  6,  7. 

He  spent  a  few  days  with  the  Counts  Reuss  and 
Henkel,  and  arrived  badly  frost-bitten  at  Halle, 
January  9th,  1742,  where  he  remained  nearly  a 
month.  Then,  b}^  way  of  the  princely  residence 
of  Count  Wernigerode,  and  dear  Goettingen,  with 
its  Dr.  Oporin  and  its  charity  school,  he  reached 
Eimbeck.  Another  month  passed  in  intercourse, 
never  to  be  renewed  on  this  side  of  heaven,  with 
his  aged  mother  and  his  brother  and  sisters.  The 
thought  of  separation  almost  overwhelmed  his 
mother.  She  said  that  she  would  rather  follow 
him  to  the  grave  than  hear  that  the  Indians  had 
torn  him  to  pieces,  a  danger  by  no  means  purely 
imaginary  in  1742. 

Wherever  the  missionary-elect  went,  he  was 
called  upon  to  exercise  his  eminent  gifts  as  a 
preacher.  As  the  result  of  an  earnest  sermon  at 
Eimbeck  on  Luke  xi.  14-28,  "The  Diverse  Effects 
Produced  on  the  Spectators  by  Christ's  Miracle," 
many  called  on  him  for  religious  conversation. 
Next  morning  he  was  summoned  before  the  burgo- 


28  HENKY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

master,  and  warned  under  threat  of  imprisonment 
"not  to  hold  Pietistic  conventicles,  as  it  was  con- 
trary to  law."  He  proceeded  straightway  to 
Hanover,  where  he  laid  his  ordination  certificate 
and  his  testimonials  from  Goettingen  before  the 
Superintendent.  Of  this  incident  Dr.  Jacobs  says: 
' '  Both  before  him  and  before  the  consistorium  at 
Hanover,  he  successfully  defended  himself  against 
all  accusers.  Hanover  had  the  same  ruler  as 
Great  Britain  (George  II.).  The  approval  of 
Muhlenberg  by  the  consistorium  was  his  endorse- 
ment by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  of  the  king, 
whose  German  subjects  in  America  jMuhlenberg 
was  on  the  way  to  serve.  His  call  came  not 
merely  from  the  three  congregations,  but  was  thus 
supported  by  that  of  the  highest  civil  authority 
in  the  country,  and,  therefore,  there  was  no  intru- 
sion into  the  territory  of  another.  He  could 
assert  the  same  legal  right  for  himself  and  those 
acting  with  him  as  the  Church  of  England  had. 
This  explains  the  statement  which  Muhlenberg 
afterward  made,  that  Uhe  English  laws  do  not 
allow  any  sect  or  any  religious  party  to  build 
churches  [with  steeples  and  bells — Dr.  Mann] 
except  the  Episcopalians,  and  besides  them  the 
Lutherans.'  " 

At  Hanover,  too,  he  had  to  refute  the  slander 
that  he  was  ' '  a  heretic  who  had  recently  returned 
from  Pennsylvania,"  not  the  last  slander  he  was 
to  endure  for  Christ's  sake  and  the  Church's.  He 
paid  his  respects  to  Frau  von  Muenchhausen, 
whose  husband  had  befriended  him  at  Goettingen, 
and  who  herself  for  many  years  showed  an  in- 
terest in  Muhlenberg's  Pennsylvania  work.  On 
April  1st,  1742,  he  preached  his  last  sermon  on 
German  soil  in  a  parish  church  in  the  city  of 
Hanover.      The    critics    acknowledged   it  to   be 


THE   EMIGRANT.  29 

'' orthodox,"  ''in  agreement  with  the  Formula  of 
Concord."  Thus  honored  and  harassed,  the 
emigrant  left  his  fatherland,  not  for  three  years, 
but  forever.  "The  Lord,"  he  says,  "had  sym- 
pathy with  my  sufferings,  and  directed  everything 
in  such  a  way  that  I  was  compelled  silently  to 
adore  and  to  ascribe  ail  to  His  special  providence 
and  care." 

His  first  destination  was  London.  His  route 
lay  through  Holland.  In  the  stage-coach,  Muh- 
lenberg, ever  alert,  picked  up  a  few  lessons  in 
Dutch,  a  language  he  was  destined  to  use  in 
America.  At  Briel  he  chose  lodgings  in  an  Eng- 
lish hotel,  but,  despite  his  Grosshennersdorf  ora- 
tion, he  was  unable  to  understand  a  word  of  Eng- 
lish as  it  was  rattled  off  by  the  English.  He  took 
the  situation  good  naturedly.  If  he  had  been  a 
Frenchman,  he  says,  he  could  have  helped  him- 
self out  with  gestures,  but  "the  '  Platt-Doutsch ' 
are  too  stiff  for  that!"  Aboard  the  packet  from 
Helvoetsluys  to  Harwich,  England,  he  had  some 
pious  discourse  in  Latin  with  a  Hungarian  Roman 
Catholic  official  of  the  court  at  Vienna,  and  prayed 
with  him. 

April  17th,  he  reached  London,  the  London  of 
his  gracious  German  Sovereign,  George  II.,  King 
of  Great  Britain,  etc.,  etc.,  as  well  as  Elector  of 
Hanover.  Though  but  a  fourth  of  its  present  size, 
London  was  a  wilderness  of  streets,  through 
which  a  drunken  driver  dragged  the  emigrant 
preacher,  with  boisterous  songs,  until  late  in  the 
evening,  before  he  set  him  down  at  Ziegenhagen's 
house  in  Kensington. 

At  this  time  London  contained  three  German 
Lutheran  Churches.  They  presented  certain  feat- 
ures new  to  Muhlenberg.  The  mother-church  was 
Trinity  in  Trinity  Lane,  dating  from  1618.     Its 


30  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

ministry  and  membership  were  from  Hamburg, 
Germany.  "St.  Mary's  in  the  Savoy"  was 
organized  in  1692.  It  was  the  most  flourishing 
of  the  churches,  and  contained  the  best  famiUes. 
The  services  were  conducted  according  to  an 
Order  drawn  princi})ally  from  that  of  the  Amster- 
dam Church  in  Holland,  then  the  largest  and 
most  influential  Lutheran  congregation  in  the 
world.  There  was  some  modification  of  the  Order 
of  Morning  Service  to  conform  it  to  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer. 

In  the  southwestern  section  of  the  city  is  the 
German  Court  Chapel  at  St.  James'  Palace.  It 
was  founded  and  endowed  in  1700,  by  Prince 
George  of  Denmark,  the  husband  of  Queen  Anne. 
It  was  attended  by  the  Hanover  officials  and  Ger- 
man persons  of  rank  visiting  London.  It  is  a 
private  chapel  of  the  English  sovereigns,  and  con- 
tains seats  for  the  German  embassy.  This  chapel 
was  under  the  general  supervision  of  the  Bishop 
of  London.  A  translation  of  the  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer  was  used  in  conjunction  with  the 
Halle  Hymn  Book. 

During  the  incumbency  of  Rev.  Anthon  William 
Boehme,  thousands  of  persecuted  Palatinate  Lu- 
therans from  up  the  Rhine  flocked  to  London. 
He  interested  Queen  Anne  in  their  v/elfare.  Many 
of  them  were  settled  b}^  the  English  government 
along  the  Hudson,  in  1710.  Among  his  writings 
is  an  "  Address  to  the  Scattered  Palatines  and 
Other 'Germans  in  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  Caro- 
lina, and  other  American  Provinces." 

His  successor.  Rev.  Frederick  M.  Ziegenhagen, 
D.  D.,  then  in  his  forty-ninth  year,  was  a  man  of 
the  same  stamp,  being  also  from  Halle.  During 
his  long  pastorate,  which  ended  only  in  1776,  he 
was  profoundly  interested  in  missions,  both  those 


THE    EMIGRANT.  31 

in  India,  and,  because  of  his  situation  in  London, 
especially  those  in  the  North  American  colo- 
nies. Ten  years  before  he  had  aided  the  perse- 
cuted Lutheran  Salzburgers,  who  had  fled  to  Lon- 
don, and  were,  in  1734,  settled  by  Gen.  Ogle- 
thorpe in  Georgia.  In  that  same  year  he  circu- 
lated an  appeal  in  Germany  on  behalf  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Lutherans.  He  saw  his  answer  in  Muhl- 
enberg' s  fresh  countenance,  framed  in  by  the  usual 
wig  worn  at  that  day. 

For  three  months  Muhlenberg  tarried  in  the 
metropolis,  getting  his  mind  accustomed  to  the 
new  point  of  view  from  which  he  had  now  to  look 
at  the  world.  Neither  the  attractions  of  London 
nor  the  presence  in  Ziegenhagen' s  house  of  the  dis- 
tinguished scholar  Michaelis  interested  him  as  did 
the  pious  Court  Chaplain  himself.  In  his  ser- 
mons, his  private  conversation,  and  his  fruitful 
explanations  of  Scripture,  Muhlenberg  found  con- 
stant delight  and  refreshment.  More  than  that, 
Ziegenhagen  must  have  understood,  far  better  than 
Francke,  the  whole  American  situation  in  relation 
to  the  English  Government,  Church,  and  language. 
In  their  discussions  Ziegenhagen  must  have  been 
impressed  with  the  new  missionary's  breadth  of 
mind,  as  well  as  with  his  ripeness  of  character. 
Muhlenberg,  in  turn,  gave  to  Ziegenhagen  a  con- 
fidence never  shaken  through  years  of  perplexing 
correspondence. 

As  to  the  rest,  we  note  that  IMuhlenberg  preached 
and  assisted  in  administering  the  Lord's  Supper, 
on  English  soil ;  that  he  was  taken  to  the  rooms 
of  the  S.  P.  C.  K.  C' Society  for  the  Promotion 
of  Christian  Knowledge"),  an  Episcopalian  So- 
ciety which  had  heartily  supported  the  Lutheran 
missions  in  India,  and  which  gave  important 
assistance  to  the  Swedish  and  Salzburger  pastors 


d2  HENEY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

in  America ;  and,  finally,  that  he  had  a  clerical 
gown  made.  This  last  circmiistance  is  important, 
because  it  explains  why  the  English  Lutheran 
clergy  of  America  wear  a  gown  differing  from  both 
the  German  and  the  Scandinavian.  Muhlenberg 
set  the  style.  All  his  pictures  show  a  black  gown 
with  flowing  sleeves,  open  in  front,  revealing  the 
cassock  and  the  bands. 

That  he  received  his  formal  call,  and  that  he 
added  largely  to  his  stock  of  English  during  these 
nine  weeks,  is  a  matter  of  course.  Nature,  expe- 
rience, and  grace  fitted  him  for  promotion  from  a 
subordinate  position  to  what  was  in  all  but  name 
the  position  of  Missionary  Bishop  of  the  German 
Lutheran  Church  in  the  Middle  States.  With  few 
precedents  to  guide  or  friends  near  at  hand  to 
counsel,  he  was  to  "blaze"  the  way  through 
Penn's  woods  for  the  chariot  of  the  Lord. 

The  last  farewells  were  spoken,  the  last  letters 
written  to  friends  and  dear  ones  in  the  fatherland. 
On  June  13th  Muhlenberg  embarked  aboard  a 
Georgia  packet,  for  it  was  deemed  best  that,  be- 
fore settling  down  in  the  North,  he  should  visit 
the  congregations  established  in  the  South,  and, 
perhaps,  secure  the  assistance  of  one  of  the  pas- 
tors m  getting  started  in  Pennsylvania.  For  a 
hundred  and  two  days  this  stuffy  old  two-master 
was  his  parish,  and,  but  for  the  mercy  of  the 
Lord,  might  ha,ve  been  his  coffin,  too.  Besides 
the  usual  annoyance  of  seasickness,  which  is  no 
respecter  of  parsons,  there  was  danger  of  Spanish 
pirates,  and  Muhlenberg  had  to  do  military  duty 
with  the  rest. 

Bodily  disorders  brought  him  near  his  end  at 
one  time.  Then,  "the  lack  of  water  was  so  ex- 
treme that  the  very  rats  suffered  from  it.  It  had 
been  noticed  that  some  of  them  had  gnawed  out 


THE   EMIGRANT.  38 

the  stoppers  of  bottles  containing  vinegar,  then 
introduced  their  tails  into  the  liquid,  and  then 
sought  to  allay  their  thirst  by  drawing  their  tails 
through  their'  mouths.  Others  would  mount  the 
beds  at  night  and  lick  the  perspiration  off  the 
brows  of  the  people  who  were  asleep." 

Of  his  military  duty,  he  says  :  "  I  girded  a 
sword  about  me,  took  my  post,  loaded  my  swivel 
gun,  but  prayed  God  not  to  allow  us  to  fall  into 

the  hands  of  our  enemies I  felt  a 

little  trepidation,  however,  when  the  enemy's 
ships  came  near  our  weather-bow,  but  my  heart 
was  comforted  and  composed,  as  I  thought,  per- 
haps, I  would  have  the  privilege  of  being  that  day 
with  my  Lord  in  Paradise." 

As  he  came  aboard  the  ship,  dressed  in  a  cleri- 
cal suit  and  wearing  a  rosette,  he  w^as  dubbed 
"Doctor  Muhlenberg."  He  did,  indeed,  have 
opportunity  to  use  his  medical  knowledge  ;  his 
chief  concern  was  with  the  six  and  twenty  souls 
on  board.  From  the  profanity  of  the  cabin  he 
found  refuge  in  the  piety  of  a  family  of  Salzburg- 
ers  in  the  steerage.  It  is  recorded  of  them  that, 
when  the  whole  ship's  company  was  in  an  uproar 
one  day  that  a  supposed  Spanish  privateer  was 
bearing  down  on  them,  Muhlenberg  found  the 
mother  and  her  children  comforting  themselves 
with  ' '  Ein  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott. ' '  When  the 
weather  w^as  fine,  he  sat  with  them  on  deck,  sing- 
ing their  favorite  German  Lutheran  hymns,  and 
during  the  voyage  he  held  daily  w^orship  with  the 
family  and  gave  the  children  religious  instruction. 
.  His  hght  could  not  be  hidden.  The  passengers 
engaged  him  in  conversation  and  argument.  They 
found  that,  though  at  times  ironical,  his  speech 
was  seasoned  with  grace  and  good  humor.  He 
axgued  against  dancing,  prevented  a  duel,  and  an- 
8 


34  HENRY   MELCHIOB   MUHLENBERG. 

swered  some  questions  about  the  Prodigal  Son  in 
a  way  that  fitted  the  case  of  several  prodigals  on 
board.  In  reply  to  a  query  as  to  the  meaning  of 
''Protestant,"  he  gave  a  short  sketch  of  Luther 
and  the  Lutheran  Reformation.  In  general,  he 
made  himself  felt  as  a  scholar  and  clergyman. 

At  last  he  was  virtually  installed  as  chaplain, 
and  on  Sunday,  July  18th,  in  mid-ocean,  ven- 
tured on  his  first  English  sermon,  based  on  Isa. 
xxiv.  16-17.  When  he  hesitated  for  a  word,  he 
gave  it  in  Latin  to  the  Scotch  captain,  who  helped 
him  to  the  English  word.  The  service  was  read 
from  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  whose  noble 
language  was  famihar  to  the  worshipers  and  not 
in  conflict  with  the  Word  of  God,  which  Muhlen- 
berg had  sworn  to  make  the  rule  of  worship  as 
well  as  of  preaching.  The  themes  of  his  sermons 
show  his  pastoral  fidelity.  He  preached  a  series 
of  sermons  on  Ezek.  xviii.  27,  ending  with  the 
words,  "He  shall  save  his  soul  ahve."  Other 
texts  were  :  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit ;"  "If 
any  man  thirst;"  and  the  Publican  and  the 
Pharisee.  He  will  surely  be  able  to  answer  in 
the  Judgment  Da}^  for  the  souls  of  his  fellow- 
voyagers.  If  they  have  perished,  their  blood  is 
not  on  his  skirts. 

His  care  extended  to  individuals.  Now  we  find 
him  administering  bodily  and  spiritual  comfort  to 
a  frivolous  lieutenant  who  is  suffering  with  a 
fever.  And  now,  admonishing  a  young  Scotch- 
man who,  by  his  reckless  behavior,  is  disgrac- 
ing the  honored  name  of  a  pious  father.  Nothing 
more  affecting  occurred  on  this  voyage  than  the 
lengthy  conversation  (minutely  recorded  in  his 
wonderful  diary)  in  which  he  engaged  with  the 
profane  Spanish  cook,  about  the  errors  of  his  Ro- 
man faith,  leading  this  poor  waif  to  turn  from 


THE   EMIGRANT.  35 

Mary  to  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  '*  While  others/^ 
says  Dr.  Mann,  ' '  trifled  away  the  precious  days, 
he  was  always  ready  and  active  in  throwing  out 
his  net  into  the  waters  of  the  deep  to  catch  souls 
and  to  bring  them  to  Christ." 

What  most  distressed  Muhlenberg  was  the  im- 
pure jesting  and  the  profane  wrangling  of  the 
cabin  passengers.  One  evening  the  lawyer  of  the 
company  said  that  they  should  miss  Muhlenberg 
when  they  came  to  separate.  He  parried  the 
compliment,  and  replied  quite  frankly  that  they 
would  no  doubt  be  glad  to  get  rid  of  him,  as  he 
had  kept  their  consciences  stirred  up  by  the  Word 
of  truth.  They  did  not,  it  appeared  to  him,  care 
for  life,  but  would  rather  die  in  their  sins  and  be 
lost ;  the  fault,  however,  would  not  be  his. 

Verily  this  emigrant  parson  has  a  straight  aim. 
He  can  give  a  reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in  him, 
and  he  is  not  afraid  of  the  face  of  man. 

The  champion  of  true  Lutheranism  in  America 
has  now  been  found,  and  his  days  of  training  are 
almost  at  an  end. 


CHAPTER  V. 

IN    THE    SOUTH. 

America  at  Last — Views  on  Negro  Slavery — Hunts  Up 
Ciiarleston  Germans — English  Preaching  En  Route  to 
Georgia — Meets  Gronau  and  Boltzius — Salzburg  Exiles 
for  Lutheranism — A  week  at  Ebenezer  Among  Ameri- 
can Lutherans — Stranded  at  Charleston — Disturbing 
Tidings  from  Pennsylvania — Always  on  Duty — "  De 
Profundis" — Arrives  at  Philadelphia  at  the  Age  of 
Thirty -one  — "The  Lord  Doeth  All  Things  Well." 
(1742.] 

Behold   how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell 
together  in  unity. — Ps.  cxxxiii.  1. 

O  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good :  blessed  is  the  man  that 
trusteth  in  him.— Ps.  xxxiv.  8. 

One  evening  the  captain  came  to  Muhlenberg's 
room,  crying  out,  ''  Welcome  to  the  coast  of  Caro- 
Hna.  We  have  sighted  land. "  "  Bless  the  Lord, ' ' 
responded  Muhlenberg,  ' '  and  forget  not  all  His 
benefits."  Fear  of  the  Spanish,  supposed  to  be 
cruising  in  those  waters,  determined  the  captain  to 
stand  for  Charleston  rather  than  Savannah.  It 
was  on  September  23d,  1742,  and  at  Charleston, 
S.  C. ,  that  Muhlenberg  first  set  foot  on  American 
soil.  True  to  his  missionary  instincts,  he  at  once 
hunted  up  the  Germans.  He  found  two  families 
of  Palatines,  who  lamented  the  lack  of  German 
Lutheran  service. 

On  his  return  to  the  ship  he  found  two  negro 

slaves  on  board.     He  asked  them  if  they  were 

acquainted  with  the  true  God  that  made  heaven 

and  earth,  and  sent  His  Son  as  the  Saviour  of  the 

(36) 


IN   THE   SOUTH.  87 

world.  They  knew  not  what  to  reply.  Deeply 
pained,  he  made  this  entry  in  his  diary:  ^' Will 
it  not  call  down  the  severe  judgment  of  God  that 
a  people  which  pretend  to  be  Christian  bring  their 
fellow-creatures,  yea  their  fellow-men,  into  bond- 
age, and  concern  themselves  not  a  whit  about 
their  souls?  The  future  will  show."  The  future 
has  shown.  The  blood  atonement  began  in  1861 
in  that  very  harbor  ! 

This  was  not  a  passing  sentiment.  Firmly  be- 
lieving that  God  had  "made  of  one  blood  all 
nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the 
earth,"  he  took  a  deep  pastoral  interest  in  the 
negroes  he  found  in  Pennsylvania.  In  the  fol- 
lowing century  his  descendants  were  profoundly 
interested  in  the  emancipation  of  the  slave. 

As  the  ship  was  to  remain  at  Charleston  several 
weeks,  arrangements  were  made  to  forward  Muh- 
lenberg and  the  Salzburgers  in  a  Georgia  sloop. 
Before  leaving  the  ship  Muhlenberg  wrote  let- 
ters to  his  friends  in  Europe,  and  to  his  ''  sor- 
rowing mother."  The  sloop  was  more  than  a 
week  in  creeping  through  the  inner  passage  to 
Savannah.  Even  here  he  found  work  for  the 
Master.  He  gently  admonished  an  old  English 
trader,  who  cursed  and  swore,  by  reminding  him 
of  the  Day  of  .Judgment.  The  master  of  the  craft 
seemed  glad  to  bring  his  religious  difficulties  to 
Muhlenberg.  So  deep  a  subject  as  the  doctrine 
of  election  was  discussed  and  explained  in  the 
light  of  John  iii.  16.  Wherever  they  stopped  long 
enough,  Muhlenberg  broke  the  bread  of  life  to  the 
English  people  on  the  plantations.  He  had  now 
been  living  among  the  English  for  half  a  year,  and 
must  have  gained  considerable  proficiency  in  ex- 
pressing religious  ideas  in  English. 

It  is  quite  remarkable  that   the   first   sermon 


38  HENRY  MELCHIOR  MUHLENBEBQ. 

preached  by  the  Patriarch  on  American  soil  was 
delivered  to  a  number  of  Presbyterians  gathered 
for  Sunday  service  on  a  Carolina  plantation,  and 
was  delivered  in  the  English  tongue.  The  text 
was  Matt.  v.  1,  ''  The  Beatitudes."  By  the  next 
Sunday  he  had  landed  at  Savannah,  paid  his 
respects  to  Col.  Stephens,  the  representative  of 
Governor  Oglethorpe,  and  met  Rev.  J.  Christian 
Gronau,  one  of  the  two  Ebenezer  pastors.  Services 
were  held  in  a  private  house,  Gronau  preach- 
ing. 

Next  day  he  and  Gronau  proceeded  up  the 
Savannah  River  to  Ebenezer,  twenty-four  miles 
west  of  the  city.  There  they  met  Rev.  J.  M. 
Boltzius,  who  with  Gronau  had  come  over  in  the 
first  transport  in  1754. 

There  is  thrilling  history  connected  with  this 
colony.  The  picturesque  duchy  of  Salzburg  in 
Austria  was  their  native  land.  For  two  hundred 
years  the  attempt  had  been  made  to  suppress  the 
Lutheran  faith  there.  In  cellars  and  in  mountain 
fastnesses  the  brave  Lutherans  continued  to  wor- 
ship God  after  the  manner  of  their  fathers.  But 
at  last  the  Roman  Catholic  archbishop  succeeded 
in  driving  out  the  "heretics."  Protestant  Europe 
was  aroused  on  their  behalf.  Germany  opened  her 
doors  to  twenty  thousand  of  them.  The  King 
of  Prussia  spent  a  million  thalers  in  caring  for 
them.  Through  the  intervention  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Samuel  Urlsperger,  of  St.  Anna's  Church  at  Augs- 
burg, the  S.  P.  C.  K.  of  London  became  interested 
in  them,  and  acted  as  treasurer  for  the  funds  col- 
lected all  over  Europe  to  send  some  of  the  exiles 
to  America.  The  pathetic  story  of  their  journey 
to  the  New  World  may  be  read  in  the  pages  of 
Bancroft's  "History  of  the  United  States." 

There  was  a  charming  simplicity  in  the  life  at 


IN   THE   SOUTH.  39 

Ebenezer.  Daily  vesper  sen'ices  were  maintained. 
It  seemed  as  thousrh  this  were  but  an  outpost  of 
the  Halle  Orphan  House,  from  which  both  pastors 
had  come  and  in  which  both  liad  been  teachers. 
There  was  even  a  small  Orphan  House  here,  in 
which  Wesley  and  Whitefield  had  shown  consider- 
able interest.  God's  blessing  rested  en  field  and 
factory.  The  "Plantations"  were  prosperous. 
Successful  experiments  were  being  made  in  the 
culture  of  silk.  The  flour  mill,  driven  by  water- 
power,  was  the  wonder  of  the  province.  What 
pleased  ^luhlenberg  most  was  the  devout  behavior 
of  the  Salzburgers  and  their  attention  to  the  Word. 
In  the  Orphan  House  he  met  an  Alsatian  mer- 
chant by  the  name  of  Mr.  J.  Fr.  Vigera,  who  was 
engaged  in  raising  silkworms.  In  a  few  years  this 
man  was  to  foilov/  Muhlenberg  to  Pennsylvania, 
and  devote  his  time  to  the  school  children. 

What  a  precious  week  at  Ebenezer,  despite  the 
fever  with  which  IMuhlenberg  was  suffering  !  He 
handed  over  Ziegenhagen's  letter,  and  a  solid 
silver  chalice,  for  which  a  pious  youth  in  Germany 
had  left  money  on  his  death-bed.  He  preached 
at  their  devotional  meetings,  and  partook  with 
them  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Blessed  sacrament 
that  binds  together  the  saints  at  Grosshennersdorf 
and  Eimbeck,  in  London  and  Ebenezer,  and — in 
Pennsylvania,  too  ;  the  saints  of  the  First  Century 
with  those  of  the  Eighteenth,  and  both  with  those 
of  the  Twentieth. 

Gronau,  eight  years  in  the  mission  field,  is  think- 
ing of  Europe  too.  In  his  diary  he  writes  :  ''I 
hope  the  Lord  will  reunite  and  once  more  bless 
us.  A  more  gracious  season  we  have  never  had 
at  Ebenezer,  for  never  before  was  this  special  favor 
granted  us  of  a  visit  from  one  of  the  dear  friends 
in  Germany."     Muhlenberg  v/as  somebody  from 


40  HENRY  MELCHIOR  MUHLENBERG. 

''home"  and  from  the  home  church — a  ''Hving 
epistle"  of  their  constant  love. 

To  Muhlenberg,  destined  to  a  distracted  Penn- 
sylvania field,  what  a  refreshing  sight  this  pros- 
perous Lutheran  colony,  undisturbed  by  sect  or 
schism  !  What  a  lively  interest  he  would  take 
in  a  church  independent  of  state  control  !  What 
a  variety  of  practical  hints  he  would  treasure  up  as 
to  the  best  methods  of  religious  work  in  the  New 
World  !  A  duller  man  might  have  learned  noth- 
ing. Muhlenberg  was  always  wide  awake,  and 
learned  everything  that  was  to  be  learned  in  what- 
ever situation  he  was  placed — Dutch  stage-coach, 
London  parsonage,  Atlantic  sailing  vessel,  or 
Georgia  colony.  That  is  the  stuff  of  which  suc- 
cessful missionaries  and  missionary  leaders  are 
made. 

After  earnest  prayer  the  congregation  yielded  to 
Ziegenhagen's  request  that  Boltzius  should  accom- 
pany Muhlenberg  to  Pennsylvania,  inasmuch  as 
Pennsylvanians  had  corresponded  with  him  in 
former  years.  As  the  boat  pushed  off,  Muhlen- 
berg struck  up  the  choral,  ' '  Follow  Me,  says 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Captain."  "The  quiet  even- 
ing, the  moonlight,  the  beautiful  voices,  the  en- 
trancing sentiment  of  the  hymn,  and  the  sweet 
echoes  made  the  departure  affecting  and  impres- 
sive, the  very  picture  of  a  blessed  departure  from 
this  world." 

By  the  twentieth  of  October  they  were  in 
Charleston,  seeking  passage  northward.  They 
lodged  with  a  German  innkeeper,  and  held  morn- 
ing and  evening  devotions,  in  which  some  up- 
country  Germans  participated.  IMuhlenberg's 
difficulties  now  began  in  earnest.  He  could  not 
get  his  checks  cashed.  His  read 3^  cash  was  run- 
ning low.     He  was  nine  hundred  miles  from  his 


IN   THE   SOUTH.  41 

destination.  The  town  was  full  of  soldiers.  War 
and  winter  confronted  him.  To  ride  across  coun- 
try through  wilderness  and  swamp  was  impracti- 
cable. It  was  deemed  best  that  Boltzias  should 
return  to  Ebenezer,  and,  in  case  no  vessel  for  Phil- 
adelphia offered,  Muhlenberg  was  to  winter  among 
the  Lutherans  at  Frederica,  on  the  island  of  St. 
Simon,  south  of  Savannah. 

Two  disturbing  documents  from  Pennsylvania 
fell  into  his  hands.  They  related  to  the  confusion 
that  Zinzendorf  was  creating  in  Muhlenberg's  fu- 
ture parish.  His  comment  is:  "Such  gourds  of 
wild  vines  enable  me  to  see  from  afar  death  in  the 
pot  (2  Kings  iv.  39,  40).  and  to  realize  the  serious 
nature  o!  my  call  thither. ' ' 

Another  characteristic  entry  in  his  diary  is  : 
"From  October  25th  to  30th  I  instructed  some 
children."  He  always  did  the  duty  nearest  to 
him,  not  asking  whether  it  was  small  or  great. 
Reformation  Sunday,  October  31st,  he  celebrated 
in  his  lodgings  with  two  services,  repeating  the 
substance  of  his  sermon,  by  request,  in  English. 

Next  day  he  debated  the  question.  Shall  I  risk 
my  life  in  a  one-masted  sloop?  He  bethought 
him  of  the  East  India  missionary's  saying : 
"Shall  death  be  my  lot,  here  I  am,  my  God.  Is 
it  Thy  will  that  I  live,  into  Thy  hands  I  commit 
my  spirit. ' '  He  engaged  passage  on  a  one-masted 
sloop,  bought  a  bed  and  some  provisions,  and  went 
aboard,  to  find  that  of  the  nine  passengers  five 
were  exchanged  prisoners  of  war,  profane  beyond 
description.  Yet  he  turned  not  back,  but  dared 
to  make  the  voyage  in  this  comfortless  bark,  "en- 
during hardness,"  as  did  Paul  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean. 

The  winds  being  contrary,  they  soon  anchored 
opposite  the  fort.      Muhlenberg  was  invited  to 


42  HENRY  MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

supper  by  the  commandant.  While  at  table,  he 
heard  the  tune,  ' '  Freue  dich  sehr,  0  meine  Seele ! ' ' 
' '  I  forgot  the  supper,  and  begged  permission  to 
see  those  Germans,"  twenty-three  in  number. 
They  were  "  redemptioners,"  bought  from  the 
ship,  after  the  custom  described  later.  When 
told  he  was  a  German  preacher,  they  embraced 
him  and  cried  for  joy.  As  there  were  twenty- 
three,  he  explained  the  twentj^-third  Psalm,  and 
prayed  with  them.  He  sent  them  a  volume  of 
Schubert's  Sermons  on  the  Gospels.  This  was 
verily  ' '  sowing  beside  all  waters. ' ' 

The  next  two  weeks  were  probably  the  most 
wretched  and  perilous  that  he  ever  passed  through. 
It  was  late  in  the  fall.  Violent  storms  and  chill- 
ing rains  overtook  them.  Nauseated  with  seasick- 
ness, wet  to  the  skin,  packed  in  the  cabin  ''like 
herrings,"  and  kept  awake  by  the  vermin,  the  pas- 
sengers, I'.Iuhlenberg  included,  thought  the  boat 
would  surely  go  to  the  bottom  ;  but,  as  they 
neared  the  Capes  of  the  Delaware  Bay,  the  sun 
shone  out,  the  spirits  of  the  company  revived,  and 
Muhlenberg  had  leisure  to  study  the  land  of  his 
adoption.  He  was  coursing  through  what  w^as 
once  "  New  Sweden."  The  farms  and  dwellings 
in  sight  belonged  mostly  to  Swedish  Lutherans. 
On  Tinicum  Island,  below  Philadelphia,  had  been 
erected,  one  hundred  3'ears  before,  the  first  Luth- 
eran church  in  the  New  World.  With  the  coming 
of  this  emigrant  pastor  a  new  chapter  was  to  open 
in  American  Church  history.  The  day  when  he 
set  foot  in  Philadelphia  was  Thursday,  November 
25th,  1742,  ten  years  after  the  birth  of  AVashing- 
ton,  nineteen  after  the  arrival  of  Franklin  in  the 
city,  and  sixty  after  William  Penn  laid  it  out. 

His  weary  pilgrimage  was  at  an  end.  He  came, 
not  to  sojourn,  but  abide.     The  places  to  which  he 


IN    THE    SOUTH.  48 

was  commissioned  bore  such  precious  names : 
''Philadelphia,"  "The  City  of  Brotherly  Love;" 
'' New  Hanover,"  suggestive  of  his  native  land; 
and  "Providence,"  in  whom  Muhlenberg  trusted 
implicitly. 

In  a  letter  to  Germany  Muhlenberg  thus  ex- 
presses himself  about  that  long  journey  of  eleven 
months  over  land  and  sea  :  ' '  Your  Excellency  was 
pleased  to  say,  '  The  Lord  do  well  for  you,  upon 
your  voyage  across  the  sea  and  in  all  other  cir- 
cumstances.' Truly,  our  Father,  reconciled  in 
Christ,  has,  according  to  the  riches  of  His  mercy, 
done  well  for  me,  an  unworthy  and  unprofitable 
worm ; — well,  when  I  was  in  London  with  the 
Court  Preacher  Ziegenhagen  ; — well,  when  I  was 
enabled,  on  the  voyage,  to  preach  to  sinners,  my 
brethren,  the  great  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ 
and  the  judgment  that  is  sure  to  overtake  the  de- 
spisers  of  His  grace,  and  that  preaching,  too,  in  the 
English  language  ; — well,  when  on  board  ship  we 
were  afflicted  with  distressing  heat  and  raging 
thirst ; — well,  when  in  the  winter  season,  I  sailed 
by  sea  in  a  miserable  sloop  through  storms  and 
great  hardships  and  in  severe  sickness  until  my 
arrival  in  Philadelphia.  0,  my  revered  friend, 
help  me  to  join  with  other  followers  of  our  Lord, 
and  help  me  to  praise  and  extol  the  mercy  and 
forbearance  of  God." 

One  who  can  write  thus  will  not  be  utterly  dis- 
heartened though  he  meet  with  coldness  and  revil- 
ing in  "the  City  of  Brotherly  Love,"  or  find 
' '  New  Hanover  "  in  a  forest  near  a  swamp,  or 
reach  '  *  Providence ' '  only  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER  VL 

A   SHEAF   OF   DATES. 

Philadelphia  and  Pennsylvania  in  1742— The  Mingling  of 
Nationalities  and  Sects — Dutch  and  Swedish  Luther- 
ans —  Four  Periods  of  German  Immigration  —  The 
Falckners,  the  Stoevers,  and  the  Weisers — Beginnings 
of  the  Philadelphia  Church — Various  Appeals  to  the 
Mother-Church  in  Europe — The  Man  for  the  Hour. 

Look  unto  the  rock  whence  ye  are  hewn,  and  to  the  hole  of  the  pit 
whence  ye  are  digged. — Isa.  li.  1. 

Will  the  Lord  cast  off  forever?  and  will  he  he  favorable  no  more? 
Is  his  mercy  clean  gone  forever?  does  his  promise  fail  for  evermore? 
— Ps.  Ixxvii.  7,  8. 

Muhlenberg  had  come  to  a  city  of  practically 
the  same  size  as  his  native  Eimbeck.  But  what 
a  difference  in  all  else  :  Eimbeck,  a  provincial 
town,  ''unhonored  and  unsuna:,"  buried  in  the 
depths  of  Germany  ;  Philadelphia,  the  busy  me- 
tropolis of  America,  with  the  ships  of  all  northern 
Europe  riding  at  anchor  in  the  harbor,  and, 
throughout  the  whole  Eighteenth  Century,  the 
statesmen  of  all  the  colonies  treading  her  streets. 

The  city  extended  from  South  Street  to  Vine 
and  from  the  Delaware  River  to  Fifth  Street. 
It  was  the  Philadelphia  of  Benjamin  Franklin, 
who,  only  five  years  Muhlenberg's  senior,  was 
coming  to  be  the  most  considerable  man  in  the 
province — printer,  editor,  politician,  and,  this  very- 
year,  founder  of  the  Philadelphia  Library. 

Whether  these  two  men,  Avho  must  have  known 
so  much  of  each  other,  ever  met  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained. They  moved  in  such  different  planes. 
(44) 


A   SHEAF   OF   DATES.  45 

Both  rose  to  eminence.  Franklin  went  to  Eu- 
rope, to  stand  before  kings  ;  Muhlenberg  came  to 
America,  to  serve  the  King  of  kings.  The  one 
was  the  prudent  man  of  the  world  ;  the  other  was 
the  sincere  child  of  God.  The  one  planted  a 
State  ;  the  other  planted  a  Church. 

The  Pennsylvania  to  which  this  emigrant-pastor 
came  was  an  English  colony  of  150,000  souls, 
three-fifths  of  whom  were  Germans.  The  English 
and  the  Quakers  were  found  in  and  near  Philadel- 
phia. The  Swedish  settlements  extended  down 
into  Delaware  and  up  the  Schuylkill  Valley.  The 
Welsh  were  scattered  here  and  there.  The  Scotch 
and  the  Irish  were  pressing  out  toward  the  Cum- 
berland Valley.  But  the  Germans  were  everywhere, 
even  in  the  outlying  towns  of  Lancaster  and  York. 
They  gave  their  name  to  Philadelphia's  oldest 
suburb,  Germantown. 

And  among  the  Germans  the  Lutherans  were  in 
the  majority,  so  that,  taking  the  German  and 
Swedish  Lutherans  together,  the  historian  Sachse 
makes  bold  to  maintain  that  ' '  from  the  very  out- 
set Pennsylvania  was  a  Lutheran  colony,  and  down 
to  some  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  Federal 
Constitution  the  Lutheran  Church,  so  far  as  in- 
fluence was  concerned,  was  the  dominant  one  in 
the  Province." 

At  this  time,  alas  !  it  was  a  most  disorganized 
Church,  especially  so  far  as  the  Germans  were  con- 
cerned. "Unionism,  indifferentism,  rationalism, 
fanaticism,  deadness,  reigned  supreme  "  (Rev.  Dr. 
M.  H.  Richards). 

Baron  von  Reck  visited  Philadelphia  in  1734, 
after  seeing  the  Salzburgers  established  in  their 
new  home.  The  religious  portrait  which  he  draws 
is  distressing  :  ''It  is  the  abode  of  all  religions 
and  sects  :  Lutherans,   Reformed,   Episcopalians, 


46  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

Presbyterians,  Seventh-Day  Baptists,  Separatists, 
Boehmists,  Schwenkfeldians,  Tuchfelder,  Wohl- 
wuenscher,  Jews,  heathen,  etc."  Since  then  the 
city  had  grown  numerically,  and  so  had  the  as- 
sortment of  religious  notions  kept  on  sale. 

This  seems  to  be  a  fitting  point  for  a  review  of 
the  German  emigration  and  of  the  efforts  to  plant 
the  Church  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  in  Amer- 
ica. It  is  drawn  principally  from  ' '  The  Luth- 
erans," by  Rev.  Dr.  H.  E.  Jacobs,  in  ''The 
American  Church  History  Series."  It  is  not  well  to 
pass  it  over,  for  all  the  rest  of  the  volume  becomes 
more  intelligible  in  the  light  of  this  chapter.  Be- 
sides that,  it  enables  us  to  look  at  the  New  World 
from  Muhlenberg's  point  of  view  after  his  confer- 
ences vv^ith  Francke,  Ziegenhagen,  and  Boltzius, 
supplemented  by  a  few  years'  residence  in  the 
land. 

Only  the  Roman  Catholics  (Spanish),  the 
Episcopalians  (Jamestown,  1607),  and  the  Puri- 
tans (Plymouth  Rock,  1620),  preceded  the 
coming  of  the  Lutherans.  Within  the  Seven- 
teenth Century  three  streams  of  Lutheran  immigra- 
tion set  in,  none  of  them  from  England.  The 
Dutch  was  the  earliest.  With  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed immigrants  to  New  Amsterdam  in  1624 
came  some  Lutherans,  and  later  some  North  Ger- 
mans. Service  had  to  be  conducted  in  a  private 
house.  Even  this  was  finally  forbidden,  some  of 
the  members  imprisoned,  and  their  first  minister 
sent  back  to  Holland.  With  the  surrender  to  the 
English,  in  1664,  came  liberty  of  worship,  the 
building  of  a  church,  and  a  settled  but  unworthy 
I)nstor.  A  second  congregation  was  founded  at 
Albany.  These  churches  and  others  were  served 
in  Dutch  and  English,  Ix^tween  1700  and  1750,  by 
the  Swede  Rudman,  the  German  Justus  Falckner, 


A   SHEAF   OF   DATES.  47 

ordained  in  1703  by  the  Swedes  in  Gloria  Dei,  and 
two  other  Germans,  Berckenmeyer  and  Knoll. 
Under  the  last  the  Germans  far  outnumbered  the 
Dutch,  and  a  language  strife  broke  out  which 
Muhlenberg  was  called  in  to  settle. 

More  important  and  honorable  was  the  Swedish 
stream.  In  fulfillment  of  a  plan  originating  with 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  the  first  vessels,  "  Key  of  Cal- 
mar ' '  and  ' '  Bird  Griffin, ' '  brought  the  Swedish 
Pilgrim  Fathers  to  America  in  1638.  Fort  Chris- 
tina (Wilmington,  Del.)  was  built,  and  within  it 
a  block-house,  used  as  a  church.  Rev.  Reorus 
Torkillus  was  the  first  pastor,  and  Rev.  John 
Campanius,  translator  of  Luther's  Catechism  into 
the  Delaware  language,  the  second.  A  frame 
church  was  built  in  1646  at  Tinicum  Island,  nine 
miles  southwest  of  Philadelphia.  Even  after  the 
English,  in  1664,  conquered  and  annexed  the  for- 
mer "  New  Sweden,"  the  Swedish  crown  provided 
and  supported  clergymen,  over  whom  Swedish 
provosts  presided  until  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  A  block-house,  built  in  1769  at 
Wicaco,  now  in  the  southern  part  of  Philadelphia, 
was  converted  into  a  church.  Swedish  kindness 
and  fair-dealing  won  the  confidence  of  the  Indians 
and  made  it  possible  for  Penn,  who  came  in  1682, 
to  make  favorable  treaties  with  them. 

The  century  closed  with  the  dedication  of  two 
famous  churches,  still  standing,  but  now  in  Epis- 
copalian hands.  They  were  Holy  Trinity,  Wil- 
mington, dedicated  July  4th,  1699,  and  "Gloria 
Dei,"  at  Wicaco,  dedicated  July  2d,  1700.  Rud- 
man  and  Bjorck  were  the  pastors.  Swedish  im- 
migration had  ceased.  The  Swedish  pastors  oc- 
casionally supplied  vacant  Episcopalian  pulpits 
with  English  service,  for  which  compensation  was 
sometimes   allowed.     The  English  spoke  of   the 


48  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

Swedish  Church  as  ' '  the  sister-church  of  the 
Church  of  England." 

As  marking  the  transition  period,  and  the  two 
influences — the  German  Lutheran  and  the  English 
Episcopalian — by  which  the  Swedes  were  to  be 
drawn,  now  toward  and  now  away  from  their 
Lutheran  faith,  we  note  that  Rev.  John  Dylander,  of 
Wicaco  (1737-1741),  preached  in  three  languages  : 
in  German  at  the  Matin  Service  ;  in  Swedish  at 
' '  high  mass,"  or  Morning  Service  ;  and  in  English 
at  Vespers.  He  even  looked  after  the  interests  of 
the  German  Lutherans  of  Lancaster.  This  brings 
us  to  the  days  of  Tranberg,  Sandin,  and  Naesman, 
Muhlenberg' s  friends. 

According  to  a  heart-rending  Appeal  sent  to 
Germany  in  1754  by  Muhlenberg  and  his  co- 
laborers,  four  periods  may  be  distinguished  in  the 
German  immigration.  William  Penn  was  the  in- 
stigator of  German  immigration,  which,  from  1680 
to  1708,  may  be  called  sectarian.  German  town 
became  a  centre  for  German  Quakers,  Mennonites, 
etc.,  though  it  is  claimed  that  orthodox  Luth- 
eran service  was  commenced  on  St.  John's  Day, 
1694,  by  the  religious  enthusiast,  Heinrich 
Bernhard  Koster,  one  of  a  band  of  German 
Pietists.  This  was  the  first  German  Lutheran  ser- 
vice in  America,  and  was  held  not  far  from  the 
site  of  St.  Michael's  Church,  Germantown.  (Mr. 
Julius  F.  Sachse  hkewise  maintains  that  Koster 
also  held  English  Lutheran  services,  which  were 
soon  transferred  to  Philadelphia,  and  held  on  Sec- 
ond Street,  below  Arch.  Out  of  them  grew  Christ 
Episcopalian  Church. )  Another  of  that  company 
was  Daniel  Falckner,  land  agent.  He  organized 
the  first  American  German  Lutheran  Church,  in 
1703,  at  "  Falckner' s  Swamp,"  in  Montgomery 
County.     It  was  one  of  the  three  churches  that 


A   6HEAF   OF   DATES.  49 

extended  a  call  to  Muhlenberg.  The  younger 
brother's  (Julius)  ordination  has  already  been 
mentioned.  He  exercised  his  ministry  among 
the  Dutch. 

The  second  period  extended  from  1708  to  1720, 
that  of  the  Palatinate  immigration.  Certain  dis- 
tricts on  the  upper  Rhine  had  never  recovered  from 
the  desolations  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and  were 
subject  to  exacting  levies  of  money  and  cruel  con- 
scriptions on  the  part  of  France.  A  succession  of 
severe  winters  and  failures  of  harvest  made  the  in- 
habitants an  easy  prey  to  the  glowing  representations 
of  Pastorius  and  other  land  agents.  An  advance 
guard  settled  German  Valley,  N.  .J.,  on  the  Rar- 
itan  River,  in  1707.  Pastor  Kocherthal  that  same 
year  brought  over  a  small  flock,  who  settled  at 
Newburg,  N.  Y.  In  1710  he  brought  three 
thousand  more,  who  were  settled  on  the  Hudson, 
on  Livingstone's  Manor.  Victims  of  the  selfish- 
ness and  extortions  of  their  English  masters,  they 
fled  northward  to  the  Schoharie  region  without 
the  permission  of  the  authorities.  The  IMohavrk 
Indians  were  kind  to  them.  To  obtain  a  clear 
title  to  their  lands  John  Conrad  Weiser,  Sr.,  in 
1718,  undertook  a  mission  to  England,  but  in  vain. 
Then,  with  heroic  resolution,  two  companies,  in 
1723  and  1729,  abandoned  their  homes,  floated 
down  the  Susquehanna  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Swatara  Creek,  and,  passing  up  that  stream,  set- 
tled in  the  beautiful  Tulpehocken  Valley.  Conrad 
Weiser,  Jr.,  was  the  leading  spirit.  The  Palati- 
nates were  partly  Lutherans  and  partly  Reformed. 
While  there  were  stray  settlements  of  Germans 
all  along  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Nova  Scotia  to 
Georgia,  the  main  current  set  toward  Pennsylva- 
nia after  1712. 

The  immigration  of  the  third  period,  1720  to 
i 


50  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

1730,  was  more  varied  and  more  earnest.  Besides 
the  Palatinate,  Wiirtemberg,  Hesse-Darmstadt,  and 
Alsace  sent  recruits.  The  preachers  were  all  too 
few.  Henkel,  Falckner,  and  Stoever,  Jr.,  in 
Pennsylvania  ;  Berckenmeyer,  Knoll,  Wolf,  and 
Hartwig,  in  New  York,  are  mentioned.  The  most 
active  in  Pennsylvania  was  John  Casper  Stoever,  Jr. 
He  came  over  with  his  father,  of  the  same  name, 
and  was  ordained  at  Providence  "  in  a  barn  ' '  by 
one  Schultze  in  1733.  tie  was  an  indefatigable 
missionary.  His  homes  were  in  Lancaster  and 
Lebanon  Counties. 

During  this  period  some  schoolmasters  cam^e 
into  the  country,  who  could  read  sermons,  but 
who  also  presumed  to  act  as  pastors  and  adminis- 
ter the  sacraments.  Rev.  Gerhard  Henkel,  pro- 
genitor of  a  distinguished  family  of  clergymen, 
preached  at  Germantown  before  1726  ;  the  corner- 
stone of  a  church  was  laid  four  years  later.  In 
that  year  a  log  church  was  built  at  Indianfield. 
In  the  same  year  the  town  of  Lancaster  was  laid 
out,  a  German  town,  indeed,  for  Stoever  performed 
baptisms  there  in  1729,  and  served  the  new  con- 
gregation 1733-1742.  In  1727  a  small  frame 
church  was  built  at  Tulpehocken,  and  Stoever  was 
pastor  there  some  years  later. 

The  last  period,  1730  to  1742,  saw  a  great  in- 
crease in  the  German  population.  The  Salzburg 
colony,  1734,  has  been  sufficiently  noticed.  The 
Philadelphia  congregation  now  comes  into  exist- 
ence. For  a  long  time  the  Germans  were  depend- 
ent on  the  Swedes  for  such  service  as  they  could 
or  would  render.  In  1732  Rev.  J.  C.  Schultze 
gathered  the  Lutherans  together,  and,  after  six 
months,  departed  in  the  spring  of  1733  to  Europe, 
commissioned  by  the  three  churches  at  Philadel- 
phia, Providence,  and   New  Hanover  to   collect 


JL  SHEAF   OF   DATES.  61 

funds.  (The  ''  West "  was  then  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  ' '  East ' '  in  Europe. ) 

The  parish  was  placed  in  the  care  of  Stoever, 
who  remained  but  a  short  while.  The  place  of 
worship  in  Philadelphia,  1733  to  1742,  is  variously 
designated  as  "  a  carpenter  shop  "  and  "  a  barn," 
but  it  is  probable  that  in  so  large  a  town  a  private 
house  would  be  secured.  Whatever  the  structure, 
it  contained  an  altar  and  a  pulpit,  with  proper  vest- 
ments, and  a  silver  chalice  was  used  to  administer 
the  communion.  There  appears  to  have  been  a 
separate  school-house. 

This  decade  was  made  notable  by  earnest  efforts 
and  frequent  failures  to  secure  European  help. 
The  elder  Stoever,  indeed,  succeeded  in  collecting 
£3000  for  the  Virginia  churches,  but  Schultze  and 
his  lay  associates  were  not  thoroughly  trusted. 
Ziegenhagen' s  letter  (see  the  first  chapter)  helped 
little.  Years  were  wasted  in  correspondence. 
The  Pennsylvanians  scolded  ;  the  Fathers  at  Lon- 
don and  Halle  delayed  ;  the  sects  played  havoc 
among  the  churches  ;  the  youth  grew  up  without 
pastoral  instruction  or  regular  service.  After  1739 
there  was  silence,  broken  only  by  the  unannounced 
arrival  of  Muhlenberg. 


II.-"  PLANTING  THE  CHURCH." 

1742-1748. 

CHAPTER  I. 

GETTING    POSSESSION    OF   THE    VINEYARD. 

Getting  His  Bearings — Through  "  the  Forest  Primeval " — 
First  Sermon  in  His  Parish— Exit  Schmidt— Recogni- 
tion at  "  The  Trappe  "—Koch  and  Schleydorn— Shakes 
Off  Kraft — His  First  American  Home — Formal  Accept- 
ance at  "The  Swamp"  Church — Swedish  Recognition 
at  Gloria  Dei  Church — Cross-examination  by  "  Mr,  von 
Thiirnstein  "—Exit  Count  Zinzendorf.     ( 1742. ) 

Return,  we  beseech  thee,  O  God  of  hosts :  look  down  from  heaven 
and  behold,  and  visit  this  vine  ; 

And  the  vineyard  which  thy  right  hand  hath  planted,  and  the  branch 
that  thou  madest  strong  for  thyself. 

Let  thy  hand  be  upon  the  riian  of  thy  right  hand,  upon  the  son  of 
man  whom  thou  madest  strong  for  thyself.— Ps.  Ixxx.  14,  15,  17. 

At  my  first  answer  no  man  stood  with  me,  but  all  men  forsook  me: 
I  pray  God  that  it  may  not  be  laid  to  their  charge.— 2  Tim.  iv.  16. 

The  vineyard  is  in  a  desperate  state.  Briars 
and  thorns  abound,  and  wild  grapes  in  plenty. 
The  hedges  are  broken  down.  ''The  boar  out  of 
the  wood  doth  waste  it,  and  the  wild  beast  of  the 
field  doth  devour  it."  Yet  God's  set  time  for  de- 
liverance has  come,  and  the  man  of  the  splendid 
imperative  is  at  hand  with  his  motto  : 

'  'Ecclesia  Plantanda. ' ' 
"The  Church  Must  Be  Planted." 

September  6th,  1741,  he  had  at  Francke's  table, 
(52) 


GETTING   POSSESSION    OF   THE   VINEYARD.        68 

in  Halle,  accepted  the  call  to  ' '  the  dispersed  Luth- 
erans in  Pennsylvania  ; ' '  and  now,  November 
25th,  1742,  he  is  standing  in  what  his  dear  patron, 
the  baroness,  called  ' '  the  extensive  uncultivated 
field  in  America,"  looking  about  him  for  his  Luth- 
erans. He  is  just  thirty-one  years  of  age — thirty 
years  of  general  and  one  year  of  most  special  train- 
ing for  his  life-work,  which  is  to  be,  we  may  say, 
bishop  or  overseer  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
America.  He  has  already  come  into  contact  with. 
the  southern  and  weaker  part  of  the  field  ;  he  ii3 
soon  to  explore  the  whole  extent  of  the  northern 
part  of  it.  His  immediate  duty  is  to  regain  thai 
particular  portion  to  which  he  is  called,  now  ip 
the  possession  of  impostors  and  interlopers. 

Other  American  pastors  and  missionaries  thought 
of  individual  souls  or  particular  congregations, 
Muhlenberg,  while  second  to  none  in  caring  fot 
these,  was  able  by  his  breadth  of  mind  and  pro- 
vidential training  to  rise  to  a  more  comprehen- 
sive thought,  and  say,  ''The  Church  must  be 
planted." 

Muhlenberg  came  to  Philadelphia  almost  ag 
much  of  a  stranger  as  Franklin  himself.  He 
knew  what  to  do,  and  lost  no  time  in  doing  it. 
He  arrived  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  spent 
a  busy  day  in  getting  the  lay  of  the  land,  and  was 
off  to  his  country  churches  before  sundown. 

Depositing  his  baggage  at  an  inn,  he  inquired  for 
Druggist  Zwiefler,  formerly  of  Ebenezer.  This 
man  happened  to  belong  to  the  new  Moravian 
congregation,  but  he  treated  Muhlenberg  courte- 
ously. The  Lutheran  congregation,  he  said,  was 
split  in  twain.  The  more  spiritual  majority  had 
gone  over  to  Zinzendorf  :  the  minority  had  called 
old  Valentine  Kraft,  a  vagabond  preacher.  What 
to  do  now  ?     Muhlenberg  rented  a  room,  and  re- 


54  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

turned  to  his  inn  for  his  baggage.  ' '  Eternal 
Providence,  not  chance,  as  some  would  say,  had 
lodged  a  countryman  conveniently  at  hand,  from 
whom  the  new-comer  discovered  that  the  objects 
of  his  search  (New  Providence  and  New  Hanover) 
were  known  as  'The  Trappe'  and  'The  Swamp,' 
and  that  his  informant  would  guide  him  thither 
that  very  day"  (Prof.  M.  H.  Pvichards,  D.  D.,  a 
descendant  of  Muhlenberg). 

Brandt  told  him,  too,  that  "The  Swamp" 
Church  had  ' '  hired ' '  N.  Schmidt,  a  quack  doctor 
and  dentist,  as  its  preacher.  Sore  as  he  was  from 
the  voyage,  Muhlenberg  pushed  on  immediately 
on  horseback,  and  made  ten  miles  that  evening. 
His  guide  was  a  good  Christian,  and  acted  in  a 
friendly  way  throughout  the  trip.  Next  day  they 
pressed  on  through  "the  forest  primeval,"  with 
which  all  eastern  Pennsylvania  was  covered  clear 
down  to  Philadelphia  itself,  and  forded  two  creeks, 
the  Schippach  and  the  Perkiomen.  Muhlenberg's 
small  horse  nearly  sank  in  the  swollen  Perkiom.en. 
His  comment  is  :  "I  believe  in  Providence. ' '  At 
last,  quite  late  on  Friday  night,  they  arrived  at 
"The  Swamp." 

On  Saturday  four  elders  and  two  deacons  were 
gotten  together.  Ziegenhagen's  letter  was  read. 
No  special  enthusiasm  was  exhibited.  Some  even 
throught  that  he  could  not  serve  all  three  congrega- 
tions, as  Philadelphia  was  thirty-six  miles  distant, 
and  the  roads  in  winter  were  wretched.  He  now 
learned  how  thoroughly  disorganized  the  Church 
was.  There  was  a  Schmidt  party  and  an  anti- 
Schmidt  party,  and  not  a  few  would  have  nothing 
at  all  to  do  Avith  churches  and  parsons.  ' '  Poor 
consolation,"  is  the  missionary's  terse  entry  in 
that  faithful  diary. 

Next  day  was  the  First  Sunday  in  Advent.     His 


GETTING    POSSESSION    OF    THE    VINEYARD.         o5 

pastorate  opened  with  the  new  Cliurch  Year,  but 
without  any  Hosannas.  Before  he  set  out  for 
church,  he  had  to  put  a  stop  to  the  traffic  which  a 
Jew  i^eddler  Vv'as  carrying  on  in  the  deacon's  house 
on  Sunda}^,  and  to  the  rough  and  profane  language 
that  Jew  and  Gentile  meted  out  to  each  other  over 
the  bargains.  The  Jew  assured  Muhlenberg  that 
that  was  nothing ;  he  did  not  understand  the  cus- 
toms of  the  country  j^et  ! 

Then  to  the  church,  an  unplastered  log  building 
erected  the  year  before.  The  text  with  v/hich  he 
opened  his  ministry  in  America  was  a  sweet  mes- 
sage to  the  sinful  and  the  sorrowing :  ' '  God  was 
in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself.  .  .  . 
Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,"  etc. 
(2  Cor.  V.  19,  20).  The  ambassador  then  read  his 
credentials.  The  abashed  Schmidt  kept  quiet ;  it 
was  not  the  credentials  that  silenced  him,  but  the 
"  man"  behind  the  credentials. 

The  afternoon  was  spent  in  spiritual  conversa- 
tion with  individua.ls — a  department  of  pastoral 
activity  in  which  Muhlenberg  shone — and  in  learn- 
ing their  views.  Schmidt's  party  wanted  the  tip- 
pling druggist  retained  as  an  assistant.  Some 
grumbled  at  the  £40  yearly  salary,  or  ' '  tax. ' '  Some 
boor  even  hinted  that  the  credentials  were  forged. 
Muhlenberg  was  content  with  the  impression  he 
had  made,  and  took  this  talk  as  a  moral  emetic, 
good  for  his  soul ! 

On  ^Monday,  with  three  deacons,  he  rode  over  to 
' '  The  Trappe, ' '  nine  miles  south  of  ' '  The  Swamp. ' ' 
''The  Trappe"  is  nine  miles  north  of  the  present 
city  of  Norristown,  and  halfway  between  Phila- 
delphia and  Reading,  in  Upper  Providence  Town- 
ship, Montgomery  County.  It  forms  the  upper 
portion  of  Collegeville,  a  station  on  the  Philadel- 
phia and  Reading  Railroad.     Here  an  old  deacon 


56  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

recognized  Ziegenhagen's  handwriting.  He  ex- 
plained that,  despairing  of  a  reply  from  Germany, 
they  had  accepted  Kraft  on  his  own  representa- 
tion. On  Wednesday,  Muhlenberg  met  Kraft  in 
Philadelphia,  and  had  a  specimen  of  his  impudence 
and  arrogance.  Here,  too,  Muhlenberg  acted  with 
dignit}^  and  stood  on  his  instructions. 

His  first  week  in  Pennsylvania  brought  the  mis- 
sionary little  comfort  or  honor.  Was  it  for  such 
suspicious  and  ungrateful  souls  that  he  had  given 
up  place  and  preferment  in  Europe  and  endured 
the  perils  of  the  sea  ?  Another  man  might  have 
wasted  time  in  moping  ;  not  Muhlenberg — he  was 
a  man  of  faith  and  action. 

The  second  week  opened  brighter.  He  made 
the  acquaintance  of  two  prominent  laymen.  One 
was  Peter  Koch,  the  most  influential  member  of 
Gloria  Dei  Church.  He  w^as  opposed  to  both 
Kraft  and  Zinzendorf.  The  other  was  Henry 
Schleydorn,  a  devout  German  sugar-refiner.  He 
had  formerly  been  a  member  of  the  Dutch  Church 
in  New  York.  These  men  recognized  Muhlenberg's 
worth,  and  the  Swedish  layman  invited  jMuhlen- 
berg  to  preach  at  Wicaco,  on  Sunday,  December 
5th.  So  Muhlenberg  preached  two  sermons  on 
that  Sunday — one  for  the  Germans  in  their  quar- 
ters on  Mulberry,  now  Arch  Street,  near  Fifth 
Street ;  and  a  second  in  German  also,  in  the 
vacant  Gloria  Dei  pulpit.  To  see  him  and  hear 
him  was  sufficient.  The  more  intelligent  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation  rallied  to  his  support,  but 
were  slow  in  taking  any  official  action.  He  had 
to  teach  all  parties  a  lesson.  Before  leaving  the 
city  he  had  the  tilt  with  Zinzendorf  related  fur- 
ther on. 

Kraft  hung  to  him  until  Muhlenberg  got  a  good 
opportunity  to    shake    him  off.      At   New  Provi- 


GETTING    POSSESSION    OF   THE   VINEYARD.         5' 

denc3,  next  Sunday,  Muhlenberg  preached  in  the 
' '  barn  ' '  that  served  as  a  church,  and  Kraft  under- 
took to  read  Ziegenhagen's  letter  and  to  "com- 
mend" Muhlenberg  to  them — m  order  to  keep 
him  away  from  Philadelphia !  The  inevitable 
clash  came  at  an  infant  baptism  at  New  Hanover. 
Here  Kraft  acted  very  officiously.  Muhlenberg 
now  read  his  call  to  the  assembled  elders,  deacons, 
and  church  members,  and  asked  whether  they  con- 
sented to  receive  him.  A  unanimous  ' '  Aye  ' ' 
purged  this  part  of  the  vineyard  of  the  notorious 
Kraft. 

At  New  Hanover  the  cramped  quarters  of  a 
lean-to  were  assigned  ]\Iuhlenberg  as  study,  bed- 
room, and  reception-room.  This  was  his  first  Amer- 
ican home.  Humble  though  it  was,  he  entered  it 
with  thanksgiving  that  he  could  be  alone  and 
meditate.  On  December  19th,  he  preached  in  the 
morning  on  infant  baptism  (on  account  of  the 
sects  thereabouts),  and  then  rode  off  to  New  Provi- 
dence, when  he  preached  on  the  Epistle  for  the 
last  Sunday  in  Advent.  The  next  week  he  made 
a  brief  visit  to  Philadelphia.  He  had  another 
taste  of  Kraft's  bluster  and  officiousness.  To  the 
mortification  of  his  own  friends,  Muhlenberg  de- 
clined to  honor  an  appointment  for  a  Christmas 
service  because  it  had  been  made  by  Kraft  ;  but, 
by  Koch's  prudent  advice,  he  graciously  yielded 
to  •  make  an  appointment  of  his  own  for  Monday, 
December  27th,  at  the  Swedish  Church.  He  spent 
Christmas,  then,  with  those  who  had  accepted  him, 
at  New  Hanover,  preaching  and  administering  the 
communion  to  over  a  hundred  communicants. 
That  evening  "the  elders  and  deacons  of  the 
Protestant  Lutheran  congregations  at  New  Han- 
over and  Providence"  signed  an  official  document 
acknowledging  him  as  their  pastor,  ' '  sent  by  the 


58  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

Eev.  Frederick  Michael  Ziegenhagen,  His  Majesty's 
German  Chaplain  and  Member  of  the  Society  for 
Promoting  Christian  Knowledge." 

The  ' '  Gloria  Dei ' '  service  was  a  virtual  instal- 
lation. Rev.  Mr.  Tranberg,  the  Swedish  pastor 
at  Wilmington,  came  up  to  attend  it.  After  Muh- 
lenberg's sermon,  he  read  aloud  Ziegenhagen's 
call,  Muhlenberg's  ordination  certificate,  his  uni- 
versity testimonials,  and  the  document  subscribed 
at  "The  Swamp"  Church,  whereupon  the  church 
council  pressed  forward  and  gave  the  new  pastor 
the  right  hand  of  recognition.  "Thus  the  Salz- 
burgers,  the  Dutch  (in  the  person  of  Schley dorn), 
and  the  Swedes  united  in  establishing  Muhlen- 
berg's position."  Philadelphia  Lutheranism  at 
its  most  critical  period  received  a  man  capable 
of  defending  the  vineyard  and  clearing  it  of  inter- 
lopers. 

Next  day  he  paid  visits  of  courtesy  to  the  Eng- 
lish Colonial  Governor  and  the  resident  Epis- 
copal rector.  Governor  Thomas  read  his  creden- 
tials, and  promised  him  all  the  assistance  in  his 
power.  He  could  not  forbear  an  Englishman's 
patronizing  air  toward  a  foreigner,  but  he  found 
that  the  "Dutch"  were  not  all  "dumb."  He 
asked  Muhlenberg  why  the  Germans  beat  their 
wives?  "In  order,"  replied  the  latter,  without 
a  smile,  "that  in  this  Quaker  community  they 
might  keep  in  practice  against  a  time  of  war." 
"Politicians,"  he  says,  "consider  preachers  like 
scarecrows — a  mark  to  throw  stones  at." 

His  method  of  disposing  of  Count  Zinzendorf 
remains  to  be  mentioned.  It  is  passing  strange 
that  a  man  of  the  high  rank  and  acknowledged 
piety  of  this  renowned  Moravian  missionary  should 
stoop  to  such  double-dealing  as  characterized  his 


GETTING  POSSESSION    OF   THE   VINEYARD.        59 

course  in  Philadelphia,  and,  indeed,  in  the  whole 
Lutheran  field  in  Pennsylvania.  Before  leaving 
Europe,  he  had  ostentatiously  resigned  his  dignity 
as  Moravian  bishop,  and  in  Philadelphia  with 
equal  parade  laid  aside  his  title  as  count.  Hum- 
ble "Brother  Ludwig,"  self  appointed  "Pastor 
and  Inspector  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Phila- 
delphia," got  possession  of  the  Lutheran  pulpit 
for  a  time,  and  still  retained  the  church  records 
even  after  the  erection  of  a  Moravian  Church. 
With  great  pretense  of  spiritualit^y  he  intermed- 
dled at  German  town  and  other  places,  and  con- 
cocted a  grand  scheme  to  unite  Moravians,  Re- 
formed, Lutherans,  and  Baptists  in  one  organiza- 
tion. The  only  result  was  to  add  another  denomi- 
nation to  the  many  already  found  in  the  colon}^, 
and  to  give  Muhlenberg  work  for  m.any  years  in 
cleansing  the  vineyard  of  obtrusive  growths.  Zin- 
zendorf  tried  in  vain  to  prevent  Muhlenl)erg's 
preaching  in  Gloria  Dei  pulpit,  from  which  Koch 
had  shut  him  out. 

On  December  8th,  Muhlenberg  went  unattended 
to  what  he  supposed  to  be  a  private  interview  with 
"  Mr.  von  Thiirn stein,"  but  which  turned  out  to  be 
a  cross-examination  and  severe  castigation  before  a 
hall  full  of  the  count's  adherents.  Zinzendorf 
tried  to  browbeat  Muhlenberg,  called  him  "in- 
sane," and  gave  him  the  "lie"  repeatedly.  But 
he  found  his  match  in  this  village  parson,  not  two 
weeks  in  the  city.  Wishing  the  count  "a  happy 
voyage  to  Europe,"  Muhlenberg  bade  him  "fare- 
well," and  "  escaped  out  of  the  snare  of  the 
fowler."  Brother  Ludwig  lingered  in  the  city 
until  New  Year's  Day.  By  Koch's  advice  the 
church  council  demanded  the  records  through  the 
Mayor  of  the  city.     January  Ist,  1743,  Zinzendorf 


60  HENRY  MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

left  for  Europe  by  way  of  New  York,  and  Muh- 
lenberg remained  in  possession  of  the  Lutheran 
vineyard  as  vine-dresser  thereof.  Next  day  he 
installed  the  Philadelphia  Church  Council ;  a\erage 
men,  he  says — like  people,  like  deacons.  But  he 
was  content  to  labor  on  with  such  helpers  as  Prov- 
idence sent  him,  until,  under  the  faithful  preach- 
ing of  the  Word,  a  devouter  people  and  broader- 
minded  deacons  should  be  developed. 


CHAPTER  11. 

SETTING    THINGS    TO    RIGHTS. 

Starving  Out  the  Enemy — Pennsylvania  Described  Physi- 
cally and  Spiritually — A  Fourth  Church  Added  to  the 
Parish — "  Halle  Reports  " — Open-air  Preaching  in 
January — Boxes  from  Halle — The  ]\Iany-sided  Mis- 
sionary— The  First  English  Lutheran — Corner-stones 
at  "  The  Trappe  "  and  Philadelphia — An  Empty 
Purse  and  a  Full  Larder — Both  Churches  in  Use  bv 
Fall— Spiritual  Results.     (1743.) 

Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  hath  not  given  us  as  a  prey  to  their  toeth 
Our  soul  is  escaped  as  a  bird  out  of  the  suare  of  the  fowlers  :  t'uo 

snare  is  broken,  and  we  are  escaped. 
Our  help  is  iu  the  name  of  the  Lord,  who  made  heaven  and  earth.— 

Ps.  cxxiv.  ti-8. 

For  this  cause  left  I  thee  in  Crete,  that  thou  shouldest  set  in  order 
the  things  that  are  wanting,  and  ordain  elders  in  every  city,  as  I  had 
appointed  thee, — Tit.  i.  5. 

Let  lis  follow  the  missionary  step  by  step  dur- 
ing the  two  years  in  which  he  stood  alone  in  this 
unkempt  vineyard.  He  had  a  hard  time  of  it 
physically  and  financially.  The  Providence  con- 
gregation presented  him  a  horse,  and  a  little  salary 
came  in  from  Philadelphia  ;  but  his  European 
funds  were  soon  exhausted,  and  his  room  rent  at 
Philadelphia  remained  unpaid.  The  people  were 
depending  on  the  "dear  fathers  at  Halle,"  instead 
of  reaching  into  their  own  pockets.  In  order  to  put 
an  end  to  opposition  churches  by  vagabond  school- 
masters, supported  by  fees  for  ministerial  acts, 
Muhlenberg,  notwithstanding  the  desperate  state 
of  his  finances,  early  in  January,  1743,  coura- 
geously abolished  all  fees  for  baptism  and  the 
(61) 


62  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

customary  '^  offerings"  for  the  minister  laid  upon 
the  altar  on  communion  days.  For  at  least  half 
a  year  he  eked  out  a  living  by  giving  private  les- 
sons in  music,  but  he  did  not  desert  his  post. 

His  description  of  Pennsylvania  is  very  inter- 
esting :  ' '  There  is  not  much  money  here  ;  but 
the  land  is  so  rich  in  all  kinds  of  productions 
that  it  maybe  said  to  flow  with  milk  and  honey." 
Probably,  when  this  was  read,  they  said  :  "  Poor 
fellow,  he  has  the  Western  fever."  "  On  the  one 
side  we  have  the  Indians,  who  are  yet  heathens  ; 

on  the  other  side,  the  ocean As  far 

as  regards  the  climate,  Pennsylvania  is  the  best 

part  of  all  America  for  the  Germans 

Here  the  houses  do  not  stand  near  together,  as  in 
the  villages  of  Germany.  There  are  always  several 
thousand  acres  in  one  body,  and  these  are  then  di- 
vided so  that  one  man  may  own  from  twenty  up  to 
five  hundred  acres.  At  first,  such  a  strip  of  land 
is  simply  woods,  forest ;  but,  after  it  has  been 
settled  and  cultivated,  it  becomes  a  township  or  a 
borough,  and  is  provided  with  streets  and  roads 
leading  to  Philadelphia.  In  traveling  on  the 
highways  you  are  continually  passing  through 
woods  ;  but  you  come  to  one  house,  standing  near 
the  road,  and  then,  some  miles  further  on,  to  an- 
other. But  the  houses  generally  stand  off  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  the  road In 

the  country  there  are  several  streams  that  some- 
times suddenly  rise  very  high,  and  then  again 
abate.  As  there  are  no  bridges  over  them,  they 
have  to  be  crossed  on  horseback  or  in  a  canoe. 
When  I  go  from  Philadelphia  to  the  churches  in 
the  country  I  have  always  to  cross  three  streams 
(the  Wissahickon,  Perkiomen,  andSkippach),  and 
in  winter  this  is  often  dangerous." 

If  we  glance  over  his  shoulder  as  he  writes  in 


SETTING    THINGS    TO   RIGHTS.  63 

his  diary  on  January  5th,  1743,  we  shall  get  a 
spiritual  photograph  of  the  vineyard  :  "It  seems 
to  me  as  if  the  time  had  come  for  God  to  visit  us, 
here  in  Pennsylvania,  with  special  favor.  In- 
deed, it  is  high  time.  If  affairs  had  continued  a 
few  years  longer  as  they  have  been,  our  poor  Lu- 
theran people  would  have  wandered  off  completely 
into  heathenism.  Some  of  them  have  never  been 
baptized ;  they  have  married,  have  children 
around  them,  and  even  the  children  are  not  bap- 
tized ;  besides  this,  the  sects  and  misleading 
opinions  that  prevail  are  more  than  can  be  num- 
bered. ' '  More  pointedly  yet  :  ' '  There  is  no  lack 
of  Atheists,  Deists,  Materialists,  and  Free  Ma- 
sons  You  find  people  of  every  na- 
tion on  the'  earth,  and  often  what  is  not  tolerated 

in  Europe  asserts   itself  here  openly 

You  may  sometimes  hear  the  most  shameful 
utterances  against  God   and   His  Holy  Word,  in 

public  and  unrestrained Throughout 

the  land  there  are  thousands  who,  according  to 
their  baptism,  their  training,  and  their  confirma- 
tion, ought  to  be  Lutherans,  but,  in  great  measure, 
they  have  strayed  away.  So  sad,  so  degraded  is 
the  condition  of  the  poor  Lutheran  people  that 
you  could  hardly  bewail  it  enough  with  tears  of 
blood." 

To  the  three  "  United  Churches"  a  fourth  was 
added,  Germantown,  which  was  served  during 
Philadelphia's  week.  On  Epiphany  Day,  accord- 
ing to  European  and  Lutheran  usage,  service  was 
held  at  Providence.  There  was  only  a  log  school- 
house  here  :  service  had  to  be  held  in  a  barn.  The 
question  of  a  church  building  soon  became  a  press- 
ing one.  It  must  be  of  freestone.  It  would  cost 
£200.  The  people  can  raise  £100,  besides  their 
hibor.      ' '  To   see   them   haul  the   stone   for  the 


64  HENRY   MELGHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

church  is  a  very  joy  to  me. ' '  This  congregation 
was  entitled  to  ope-third  of  certain  church  exten- 
sion funds  at  Halle.  Even  this  left  a  deficit. 
"  May  the  Lord,"  writes  Muhlenberg  to  Halle, 
''  move  the  hearts  of  the  people  in  Europe  so  that 
they  may  render  us  needed  help."  Thus  he  be- 
sieged the  throne  of  grace,  and,  while  not  sparing 
his  own  people,  did  not  hesitate  frankly  to  tell 
their  needs  to  the  Mother-Church  across  the  water. 
The  fact  is,  that  in  Pennsylvania,  though  produce 
was  plenty,  it  fetched  a  low  price  in  the  city,  so 
that  ready  money  was  scarce. 

At  Halle  they  understood  the  power  of  the 
press,  and  believed  in  keeping  the  mission  cause 
before  the  people.  Beginning  with  ' '  A  Brief  Re- 
port," in  1744,  embracing  extracts  from  Muhlen- 
berg's letters  and  diaries,  the  hardships,  labors, 
and  triumphs  of  the  Pennsylvania  missionaries 
were  from  time  to  time  spi-ead  before  the  Church. 
They  served  to  keep  up  a  continuous  interest  in 
the  Church  of  the  West,  and  bore  fruit  in  men 
and  money.  i\Iuhlenberg' s  contributions  to  these 
intensely  interesting  documents  ohow  him  to  have 
been  a  model  pastor  and  a  giant  among  mission- 
aries. They  were  reprinted  from  time  to  time. 
Finally  Prof.  Dr.  Schulze,  of  the  University  of 
Halle,  edited  and  reissued  the  whole  series  in 
1787,  the  year  of  Muhlenberg's  death.  Two 
thorough  American  scholars.  Rev.  Dr.  W.  J. 
Mann,  one  of  Muhlenberg's  successors  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  Rev.  Dr.  B.  M.  Schmucker,  famous 
as  the  great  liturgical  authority,  republished  these 
"  Hallesche  Nachrichten,"  in  1884,  with  a  mass 
of  historical  notes.  A  portion  of  their  work  was 
Englished  by  that  prince  of  translators,  Rev.  Dr. 
C.  W.  Schaeffer,  one  of   ]\Iuhlenberg's  successors 


SETTING    THINGS    TO   RIGHTS.  65 

in  the  Germantown  pulpit.  It  is  published  as 
"  The  Halle  Reports."  Than  these  Muhlenberg 
can  have  no  nobler  monument. 

To  resume  our  narrative,  next  week  another 
problem  had  to  be  solved  at  New  Hanover,  the 
educational  one.  ' '  Since  ignorance  is  very 
great  in  this  country  and  good  schoolmasters  are 
very  scarce,  I  had  to  take  this  matter  also  into  my 
hands.  On  the  following  Monday,  January  10th, 
the  parents  brought  me  some  of  their  children. 
It  does  not  look  very  promising  to  see  youths  of 
17,  18,  19,  20  years  of  age  appear  with  the  A,  B, 
C  book.  Yet  1  rejoice  to  see  their  desire  to  learn 
something.  Singing,  also,  has  quite  died  out 
among  the  young  people."  The  Halle  pedagogue 
now  became  the  Pennsylvania  schoolmaster,  taking 
the  three  churches  week  about  "simply  for  the 
purpose  of  preparing  the  larger  youth  and  the 
adults,  whose  instruction  has  been  neglected,  for 
confirmation."  He  took  a  common-sense  view  of 
the  request  made  by  some  young  fellows  for  in- 
struction in  English.  ' '  This  also  affords  me  an 
opportunity  to  do  some  good,"  words  which  are  a 
key  to  his  success  as  a  missionary,  "hence  I  read 
the  New  Testament  with  them  in  English." 

On  Saturday,  January  15th,  he  returned  to 
Providence,  to  discuss  with  the  church  officers  the 
character  of  those  who  had  handed  in  their  names 
for  communion  next  day.  Sunday  was  a  hard 
day,  as  the  great  crowds  forced  him  to  speak  in 
the  open  air — in  January  !  He  caught  a  severe 
cold,  which  seriously  affected  his  throat.  OAving 
to  his  exposed  life  he  frequently  suffered  in  this 
way,  especially  this  spring,  when  he  had  much 
outdoor  preaching  to  do,  and  that  before  he  was 
acclimated.  What,  if,  on  the  very  threshold  of 
his  career,  he  had  lost  his  voice  !     But  One  who 


66  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

doeth  all  things  well  was  watching  over  His  faith- 
ful servant. 

That  week  two  boxes  reached  him  from  Halle. 
They  contained  medicine  for  body  and  soul,  the 
latter  some  cheap  popular  devotional  books. 
Muhlenberg  readily  disposed  of  the  articles  among 
his  parishioners.  The  missionary  played  many 
parts,  and  played  them  all  well.  He  was  pastor, 
itinerant  preacher,  schoolmaster,  singing  teacher, 
organist,  colporteur,  precentor,  church  builder, 
and,  at  times,  physician.  That  he  was  his  own 
hostler  was  a  matter  of  course.  Whether  the  stu- 
pidity of  his  parishioners  ever  compelled  him  to 
act  as  janitor  is  not  known,  but,  if  necessary,  he 
would  have  filled  the  part  gracefully.  He  was 
quite  willing  to  be  "  made  all  things  to  all  men 
that  he  might  by  all  means  save  some." 

The  Fathers  in  Europe  recognized  the  worth  of 
their  representative  in  the  New  World,  and  were 
not  slow  to  let  the  church  know  of  his  faithful- 
ness.    In  the  first  missionary  bulletin  they  say  : 

^'  Now,  although  it  might  have  seemed  that  the 
labors  of  one  solitary  pastor  were  altogether  inad- 
equate to  the  task  of  restoring  order,  not  only  in 
one,  but  several  different  congregations,  and  giv- 
ing them  a  start  in  the  direction  of  positive  good, 
yet  Pastor  Muhlenberg,  superior  to  the  infirmity 
of  fear,  resolved,  with  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  do 
his  best,  and  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  office 
with  all  fidelity  and  with  unwearied  patience, 
until  it  should  please  God  to  send  him  requisite 
assistance."  This  httle  bit  of  not  overstrained 
praise,  coming  in  1744,  did  the  missionary  more 
good  than  many  honors  after  he  was  worn  out 
with  service,  or  a  whole  volume  of  glowing  obitu- 
ary notices. 

In  Philadelphia  the  church  question  was  more 


SETTING    THINGS    TO    RIGHTS.  67 

serious  than  in  the  country.  There  is  something 
quite  modern,  and  western,  about  this  entry  un- 
der January  23d  :  ' '  Twenty  or  thirty  years  ago, 
a  piece  of  ground  for  a  church  might  have  been 
bought  at  a  very  moderate  figure.  The  price 
of  land  is  constantly  advancing,  and  the  number 
of  Lutherans  is  increasing  year  after  year.  The 
longer  we  delay  building  the  costlier  it  will  be." 
This,  for  European  readers. 

At  New  Hanover  there  was  a  division  of  opinion 
on  building  a  school-house  and  parsonage  under 
one  roof.  Muhlenberg  managed  the  matter  tact- 
fully, and  the  meeting  adjourned  in  peace  and 
harmony.  At  the  request  of  the  congregation  he 
audited  the  accounts  of  the  church  officers. 

Perhaps  the  first  person  confirmed  by  him  was 
a  young  woman  of  twenty-three,  "  v>^ho,  since  her 
seventh  year,  had  been  living  with  English  Quak- 
ers, and  who  proved  to  be  not  only  totally  igno- 
rant of  Christian  doctrine,  but  also  to  have  for- 
gotten the  German  language."  After  a  hurried 
private  course  of  instruction  by  Muhlenberg — one 
more  duty  added  to  the  many  he  already  had — 
she,  on  February  6th,  ' '  made  a  confession  of  her 
faith  (in  English),  in  the  presence  of  the  congre- 
gation, and  partook  with  them  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per. This  scene  produced  a  very  deep  and  happy 
impression  upon  the  congregation  itself."  A 
funeral  in  the  congregation  nearly  proved  his 
death.  There  was  a  four-mile  ride  through  the 
woods  to  church,  and  the  people  put  Muhlenberg 
on  a  wild  colt.  How  many  forms  of  death  this 
man  of  God  escaped  by  the  good  hand  of  his 
Lord  upon  him  ! 

About  that  time  he  was  called  to  visit  a  sick 
woman  six  miles  from  Providence,  west  of  the 
Schuylkill    River,    and    preached    there  to  the 


68  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

assembled  neighbors.  February  18th  he  made  a 
visit  to  the  village  of  Germ  an  town,  ten  miles 
northwest  of  Philadelphia,  and  preached  in  their 
"  Kirchlein  "  (little  church). 

Church  b'nlding  operations  moved  on  apace, 
for  the  congregations  grew  in  size  and  courage  in 
the  presence  of  a  capable  leader.  * '  May  2d  we 
laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  first  Lutheran  Church 
at  Providence  ['The  Trappe'],  and  had  an  im- 
mense concourse  of  people  present,  English  as 
well  as  German."  Notice  how  respectfully  this 
German  pastor  speaks  of  his  English  neighbors, 
and  what  concern  he  shows  for  their  spiritual 
well-being.  Oh,  that  his  generous  policy  and  wise 
method  could  have  been  carried  out  continuously 
during  that  century.  What  sorrows  it  would  have 
averted  in  the  next.  To  continue  :  "The  relig- 
ious exercises  w^re  begun  by  singing  the  hymn, 
*  Commit  thou  all  thy  ways  and  cares  into  His 
hand  ; '  then  I  preached  in  German,  on  the  text, 
Zech.  xiv.  7  ;  after  this  I  preached  also  in  Eng- 
lish." The  first  service  was  held  in  the  unfin- 
ished church  in  September,  though  the  dedication 
did  not  occur  until  1745. 

Of  Philadelphia  he  writes  :  ''  The  week  before 
Easter,  God  in  His  mercy  gave  us  a  lot  in  the 
centre  of  the  city.  [He  had  an  eye  for  a  promi- 
nent location  ;  it  was  on  Fifth  Street,  between 
Arch  and  Race.]  If  we  should  sell  it  now,  we 
would  get  an  advance  of  £20  sterling."  The 
corner-stone  of  St.  Michael's  w^'is  laid  on  April 
5th.  As  they  ' '  must  show  consideration  for  those 
who  are  to  come  after"  themselves,  the  dimen- 
sions were  fixed  at  seventy  feet  in  length,  forty- 
five  in  breadth,  and  thirty-eight  in  height,  with  a 
steeple  eighty-five  feet  high.  The  material  was 
brick.     ""The   cost    is   estimated   at   £800    ster- 


SETTING    THINGS    TO    iilGHTS.  69 

ling"— $4000.00.      "Our   trust   is   in  the  living 
God." 

These  extraordinary  expenses  in  two  of  the 
three  congregations  made  it  impossible  for  them 
to  give  him  any  salary.  The  farmers  were  gener- 
ous with  provisions.  ' '  One  man  brings  me  a 
sausage,  another  a  piece  of  meat,  a  third  a  chicken, 
a  fourth  a  loaf  of  bread,  a  fifth  some  pigeons,  a 
sixth  a  rabbit,  a  seventh  some  eggs,  an  eighth 
some  tea  and  sugar,  a  ninth  some  honey,  a  tenth 
some  apples,  an  eleventh  some  partridges,  etc." 
For  rent  and  clothing,  and  for  two  new  horses  in 
succession,  he  ran  into  debt  £60  in  two  years, 
without,  however,  losing  heart  or  temper.  When 
money  came  from  Germany,  he  did  not  look  out 
simply  for  Number  One,  and  take  all  he  was  en- 
titled to.  "As  debts  troubled  me  and  there  was 
no  feasible  way  I  took  £30,  paid  my  indebtedness, 
gave  £20  to  New  Hanover,  and  owe  them  £30 
more.  My  salary  had  gone  to  the  Philadelphians, 
who  cannot  repay  it,  yet  those  £30  must  be  paid." 
And  paid  they  were.  ' '  The  Church  must  be 
planted."  "Our  trust  is  in  the  living  God." 
Such  a  man  makes  an  inspiring  missionary. 

On  September  12th,  "The  Trappe"  congrega- 
tion left  the  barn,  and  worshiped  for  the  first 
time  within  the  bare  walls  of  the  new  Augustus 
Church. 

By  November,  St.  Michael's  was  under  roof. 
^ '  In  this  there  seems  to  be  something  of  a  Divine 
appointment,  for,  as  the  Swedes  have  now  their 
own  pastor  (Naesman),  they  will  occupy  their 
church  themselves. "  (It  is  an  interesting  fact  that 
over  a  century  later  this  very  St.  Michael's  Church 
gave  shelter  to  the  revived  Swedish  work,  now 
Zion  Swedish  Church,  Philadelphia.)  Though 
the  scaffolding  inside  the  building  was  still  stand- 


70  HENRY  MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

ing,  and  the  windows  had  to  be  boarded  up,  the 
first  service  was  held  October  20th.  The  dedica- 
tion was  deferred  until  1748.  With  full  consci- 
ousness of  the  vital  importance  of  a  church  build- 
ing in  the  metropolis,  he  adds,  ' '  What  a  blessing 
this  is,  in  a  strange  land,  where  wickedness  so 
much  abounds.  Our  enemies  have  been  hoping 
all  along  that  the  four  men  who  have  made  them- 
selves responsible  for  the  payment  would  be  cast 
into  prison  for  debt  before  the  work  had  advanced 
as  far  as  it  is."  He  makes  grateful  mention,  too, 
of  one  hundred  Rix  dollars  received  from  the  Lan- 
caster congregation.  (These  people  felt  doubly 
near  to  the  Philadelphia  church,  since  the  com- 
pletion of  the  public  highway  between  the  two 
places  in  1741.) 

Concerning  spiritual  results  he  writes  joyfully 
under  date  of  June  6th,  1743  :  "In  Providence 
I  have  already  instructed  some  twenty,  confirmed 
them,  and  admitted  them  to  the  hol}^  com- 
munion. Amongst  these  there  were  several  mar- 
ried persons.  In  New  Hanover,  also,  I  have  in- 
structed and  confirmed  about  twenty,  of  whom 
several  were  about  twenty-five  years  of  age.  I 
have  a  small  number  in  course  of  instruction  at 
Philadelphia,  who,  however,  have  not  as  yet 
advanced  very  far."  The  city  work  was  proving 
more  difficult  than  that  in  the  country. 

' '  On  Whitsunday  I  preached  in  New  Hanover. 
The  crowd  was  so  great  that  they  almost  trod  upon 
one  another.  After  the  sermon,  I  baptized  eleven 
children  in  the  presence  of  the  congregation,  also 
a  married  woman,  to  whose  instruction  I  had  pre- 
viously attended  some  time.  The  woman  was  the 
child  of  Mennonite  and  Baptist  parents,  and  dur- 
ing the  time  of  her  instruction  she  attained  to  a 
happy,  living  knowledge  of  the  truth.     On  Whit- 


SETTING    THINGS    TO    RIGHTS.  71 

monday  I  preached  in  Providence  to  a  very  large 
congregation,  and  administered  the  Lord's  Supper. 
I  confirmed  six    adults,    some  of   them  married 
persons,  also  two  youths,  and  baptized  two  chil 
dren.'^ 

Under  November  25th  :  ' '  I  have  baptized  a 
mother  and  her  five  adult  children  in  the  church  at 
German  town.  .  .  .  They  were  so  much  affected 
that  I  might  almost  have  baptized  them  with  their 
tears.  At  the  same  place  I  baptized  a  married 
man.  Through  the  grace  of  God  these  persons  seem 
to  be  advancing  in  spiritual  strength  and  faithful- 
ness." This  is  discriminating,  modest,  hopeful, 
and  talhes  with  his  record  of  January  5th. 

Between  then  and  now  he  had  made  long  strides 
in  the  difficult  task  of  "  setting  things  to  rights  ^* 
in  his  neglected  and  pillaged  vineyard. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CO-LABORERS    IN   THE    VINEYARD. 

First  Visit  to  Tulpehocken — Conrad  Weiser  and  His 
Daughter — Proposed  Synod  of  1744 — Slanderers  and 
Drunlvards — Reinforcements  from  Germany — ^^indica- 
tion — Field  Divided — ]\Iuhlenberg  a  Country  Parson — 
Views  on  Matrimony — Marries  Weiser's  Daughter — 
Sets  Up  Housekeeping  at  *'  The  Trappe."     (1744-1745. ) 

Two  are  better  than  one  ;  for  if  they  fall,  the  on^  will  lift  up  his  fel- 
low :  but  woe  to  him  that  is  alone  when  he  falleth  ;  lor  he  hath  not 
another  to  help  him  up. 

And  if  one  prevail  against  him,  two  shall  withstand  him  ;  and  a 
threefold  cord  is  not  quickly  broken. — Ecc.  iv.  9,  10,  12. 

I  have  planted,  Apollos  watered  ;  but  God  gave  the  increase. 
So  then  neither  is  he  that  planteth  anything,  neither  he  that  water- 
eth  ;  but  God  that  giveth  the  increase. — 1  Cor.  iii.  6, 7. 

In  the  wide  valley  between  Reading  and  Leb- 
anon is  Tulpehocken.  The  Palatinate  Lutherans 
who  had  settled  there  in  1723  and  1729  built  a 
frame  church,  and  had  sermons  read  every  Sun- 
day. Just  now  the  congregation  was  split  into 
three  factions,  thanks  in  part  to  the  Zinzendorf 
influence.  The  fame  of  Muhlenburg  as  a  wise 
councilor  reached  this  place,  fifty  miles  beyond 
his  parish.  In  the  summer  of  1743  he  visited  the 
congregation,  by  request,  and  induced  the  factions 
to  unite  on  Rev.  Tobias  Wagner.  This  impulsive 
and  suspicious  clergyman  threw  his  influence 
rather  on  the  side  of  Stoever,  now  in  Lancaster 
County,  and  long  averse  to  fellowship  with  IMuhl- 
enberg.  Wagner  annoyed  Muhlenberg  for  many 
years,  but  he  at  least  kept  out  that  worthless 
clerical  tramp,  Andreae. 

(72) 


CO-LABORERS    IN   THE  VINEYARD.  73 

This  visit  was  an  eventful  one  for  Muhlenberg 
in  other  respects.  It  won  for  him  eventually  the 
moral  support  of  one  of  the  foremost  Germans  in 
Pennsylvania,  a  man  of  heroic  and  romantic 
mould,  yet  deeply  religious,  the  celebrated  Indian 
agent,  Conrad  Weiser,  Jr.  His  father,  old  John 
Conrad,  was  a  consistent  Lutheran,  but  the  son 
had  a  peculiar  history.  Born  in  Germany,  in 
1696,  emigrating  with  his  father  to  New  York 
State,  spending  eight  months  among  the  Six  Na- 
tions, he  had  a  strong  hold  on  both  the  Germans 
and  the  Indians.  In  1720  he  married  a  German 
(not  an  Indian)  maiden,  Eva  Anna,  and  nine 
years  later  came  to  Tulpehocken. 

According  to  Muhlenberg  he  was  "first  awak- 
ened by  the  reading  of  the  Church-postils  of  the 
sainted  Prof.  Francke.  Afterward  he  had  some 
connection  with  the  so-called  Sabbath  Friends, 
who  insisted  so  much  on  the  matter  of  self-de- 
nial. ' '  He  was,  in  fact,  quite  a  fanatical  member 
of  the  Ephrata  cloister,  Lancaster  County.  In 
this  community  of  Seventh-Day  Baptists  he  was 
known  as  "Brother  Enoch."  Muhlenberg  says 
that,  when  the  writings  of  Dippel  were  spread 
among  them,  and  they  began  to  reject  Jesus 
Christ,  he  left  them.  He  now  entered  into  politi- 
cal life  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  was  much 
trusted  by  the  Governors  of  the  State.  Religiously 
he  fell  for  a  time  under  Zinzendorfs  influence, 
without  committing  himself  to  him  entirely.  He 
now  gave  his  life-long  friendship  to  Muhlenberg, 
much  the  soberest  friend  he  ever  had.  Owing  to 
his  sentimental  nature  and  his  lack  of  theological 
training,  he  did  not  draw  sharp  lines  between  the 
denominations,  yet  he  loyally  supported  Muhlen- 
berg in  his  Lutheran  work.  Through  him  Muhl- 
enberg was  brought  into  contact  with  the  history 


74  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

of  New  York  State  Lutheranism  for  the  past  thirty 
years.  Muhlenberg's  singing  of  the  Halle  hymns, 
to  his  own  accompaniment  on  the  organ,  capti- 
vated Weiser,  and,  possibly,  also,  his  daughter 
Anna,  just  then  "sweet  sixteen." 

An  attempt,  made  in  May,  1744,  at  Gloria  Dei 
Church,  to  unite  the  Swedes  and  the  Germans  in 
one  organization  failed.  Koch  and  Schleydorn 
were  bent  on  accomplishing  the  union,  especially 
in  order  to  keep  out  the  Moravians,  who  were 
w^orrying  the  Swedish  Churches.  The  plan  failed 
because  Nyberg,  of  Lancaster,  was  a  secret  Mo- 
ra\^an,  and  Naesman  was  impractical. 

So  far,  Muhlenberg  found  no  kindred  clerical 
spirits  in  America,  save  at  remote  Ebenezer.  He 
needed  helpers  as  well  as  sympathizers,  for,  with- 
out help,  "  he  would  be  sure  to  sink  under  his 
labors,"  wrote  the  Halle  Fathers.  In  all  his  let- 
ters he  had  been  pleading  for  assistance  ;  so  had 
the  people.  With  Germans  swarming  in,  ''the 
harvest  was  great,  but  the  laborers  few." 

The  first  arrival  was  in  1743,  J.  F.  Vigera,  from 
Ebenezer,  Georgia.  He  was  made  schoolmaster 
at  New  Hanover,  and  for  many  years  labored 
under  Muhlenberg's  direction,  here  and  there,  as 
teacher  and  lay-reader.  Another  excellent  young 
man,  employed  by  him  at  Providence,  was  J.  J. 
Loeser.  Both  of  these  men  were  used  at  Lancas- 
ter. By  July,  1744,  three  men  were  on  their  way 
from  Germany,  Rev.  Peter  Brunnholtz  (from 
Schleswig-Holstein,  quite  familiar  with  Danish 
and  Swedish),  and  two  intimate  friends,  the  Cate- 
chists  J.  Nicolaus  Kurtz  and  J.  H.  Schaum.  They 
journeyed  by  way  of  London.  Prayer  was  offered 
every  Sunday  in  the  American  churches  for  their 
safe  arrival.  They  reached  Philadelphia  January 
26th,  1745,  a  day  annually  commemorated  by  the 


CO-LABORERS    IN  THE  VINEYARD.  75 

United  Pastors.  When  Muhlenberg  met  them 
face  to  face,  they  sang  together  ' '  Lobe  den  Her- 
ren,  0  meine  seele  "  ( "  Praise  the  Lord,  0  my 
soul  "  ) ,  and  united  in  prayer. 

Muhlenberg  wrote,  out  of  the  fullness  of  his 
heart,  to  Germany  :  "I  know  not  whether  to 
laugh  or  to  cry  at  the  arrival  of  our  three  assist- 
ants. O  how  hard  to  struggle  against  doubt, 
against  despondency,  and  against  other  evils.  No 
doubt  I  have  been  giving  trouble  and  anxiety 
enough  to  my  beloved  Fathers  in  London  and 
Halle  by  my  frequent  lamentations,  for  which  I 
pray  them  kindly  to  forgive  me.  Now  I  have 
seen  that  the  Lord  can  do,  and  does  do,  more 
than  we  can  understand.  It  is  not  my  work  ;  it 
is  the  Lord's  working,  therefore  rejoice,  O  ye 
heavens,  and  be  glad,  O  earth." 

He  then  mentions  a  succession  of  trials  that 
bade  fair  to  wreck  his  ministry.  ' '  The  German 
printer,  Christopher  Sauer,"  of  Germantown,  a 
rank  sectarian,  "  sought  both  in  private  and  in 
pubhc, ' '  through  his  paper  and  almanac,  ' '  to 
make  myself  and  ni}^  office  odious."  Muhlen- 
berg therefore  warned  his  people  to  examine  their 
Sauer  Bibles,  printed  in  1743,  lest  they  contain 
slanders  against  the  Lutheran  Church. 

An  unprincipled  woman  had  dared  to  bring  a 
vile  charge  against  Muhlenberg  before  the  author- 
ities, but  was  compelled  to  ask  public  forgiveness 
of  the  congregation.  ' '  If  the  devil  had  suc- 
ceeded, I  would  have  had  to  resign  my  office  ;  but 
God  was  my  defense.  So  the  attack  of  the  devil 
resulted  at  last  in  magnifying  my  office  ;  but  to 
me  it  was  a  time  of  much  suffering. ' '  This  emi- 
grant missionary,  who  has  climbed  to  the  place  of 
honor  as  ' '  the  Patriarch  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
in  America, ' '  knew  what  it  was  to  be  "  troubled 


76  HENRY   MELCHIOR  MUHLENBERG. 

on  every  side. "  ^ '  Without  were  fightings,  within 
were  fears." 

Then  came  trouble  about  a  funeral  at  New  Han- 
over. As  Muhlenberg  could  not  get  up  from  the 
city  in  time,  "Certain  hard  drinkers  and  men 
of  base  character  engaged  Preacher  Andreae  to  at- 
tend the  funeral.  The  congregation  was  divided. 
With  what  sort  of  weapons  could  I  fight  now  ? 
The  Quaker  civil  officers  say,  '  We  have  no  use 
for  preachers  in  this  country.'  The  hard  drinkers 
commonly  say,  '  As  we  have  to  hire  a  preacher  for 
money,  let  us  have  a  jolly  one,  for  this  Muhlen- 
berg is  too  strict  for  us.'  Serious  and  earnest 
souls  weep  and  sigh. 

''Andreae  prowls  about  and  denounces  me 
openly  as  a  Pietist  and  a  Herrnhuter  (Moravian). 
Nothing  was  left  for  me  save  the  love  which  most 
of  them  still  bear  toward  me.  Accordingly  I  laid 
hold  of  the  matter  from  this  side,  and  had  the 
congregation  informed  that,  if  they  would  tolerate 
such  disorders,  I  would  leave  them  and  never 
come  again.  This  called  forth  weeping  and 
lamentations.  Some  of  the  disorderly  party 
begged  to  be  forgiven,  and  the  well-disposed  peo- 
ple promised  to  be  more  careful  of  the  interests  of 
the  church.     So  I  went  back  to  them  again. 

"In  Europe  you  can  scarcely  form  a  correct 
idea  of  circumstances  as  they  exist  here.  The 
voyage  across  the  ocean  was  very  hard  upon  me, 
but  the  trials  and  burdens  which  I  have  had  to 
bear  in  the  two  years  of  my  pastoral  experience 
here  cannot  be  conceived.  And  yet  I  must  chide 
my  unbelief  and  say,  '  The  Lord  is  faithful,  and 
there  is  no  unrighteousness  in  Him.'  " 

Brave  soul,  he  is  not  reckoning  that  in  another 
year  his  call  will  expire,  and  that  he  will  be  at 
liberty,  like  the  men  at  "Gloria  Dei"  and  Wil- 


CO-LABOEERS    IN  THE  VINEYARD.  77 

mington,  to  return  to  Fatherland  and  ^lother- 
Church,  with  his  "expenses  paid"  and  a  com- 
fortable parish  in  Europe. 

The  assistants  did  not  arrive  until  1745.  He 
could  not  account  for  the  delay,  nor  for  the  non- 
arrival  of  letters,  addressed  to  him,  from  Germany 
and  England.  All  this  gave  "  his  enemies  occa- 
sion to  insult  and  ridicule  him,  stating  that  his 
friends  and  benefactors  in  Europe  had  cast  him 
off  ;  and,  still  worse,  others  spread  slanderous  re- 
ports to  the  effect  that  he  had  applied  to  his  own 
use  the  money  which  had  been  collected  for  the 
churches.  This  calumny,  however,  was  com- 
pletely silenced  upon  the  arrival  of  the  letters 
from  Europe  which  contained  also  the  balance  of 
the  moneys  collected. "    (  "  Halle  Reports. ' ' ) 

In  a  letter  brought  by  Brunnholtz,  and  ad- 
dressed to  the  congregations,  Francke  admonished 
those  "  who,  by  failing  to  bring  forth  the  fruits  of 
true  repentance,  have  been  a  grief  to  their  pastor, 
to  humble  themselves  in  godly  sorrow" — advice 
which  is  not  out  of  date  in  the  Twentieth  Century. 

In  view  of  all  these  things  it  is  no  wonder  that, 
when  Muhlenberg  saw  his  colleagues,  he  "knew 
not  whether  to  laugh  or  to  cry. ' '  The  days  of  his 
loneliness  were  over.  There  were  now,  in  all,  six 
vine-dressers  in  the  vineyard.  Opposition  in  his 
own  parish  collapsed  in  the  presence  of  these  re- 
inforcements. 

After  a  few  months'  trial  of  joint  service,  the 
two  pastors  divided  the  field,  so  that  the  more  deli- 
cate Brunnholtz,  who  was  beginning  to  break 
down  under  the  strain  of  travel,  was  given  Phila- 
delphia and  Germantown,  and  the  more  robust 
Muhlenberg  retained  the  country  churches,  to- 
gether with  the  general  oversight  of  the  field. 
Schaum  was  placed  as  teacher  in  Philadelphia, 


78  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

and  Kurtz  at  New  Hanover.  For  twelve  years,  or 
until  his  death,  Brunnholtz  continued  in  the 
Philadelphia  pulpit.  Muhlenberg  had  a  high  re- 
gard for  his  intellectual  powers.  He  was  a  recent 
university  graduate,  a  good  linguist,  and,  like 
Muhlenberg,  had  been  in  the  service  of  a  noble 
family  in  Germany  as  pastor  and  tutor. 

Relieved  of  the  onerous  duty  of  teaching,  Muh- 
lenberg could  now  more  readily,  with  the  aid 
of  Brunnholtz  and  the  schoolmasters,  reach  out- 
lying districts,  and  supply  them  with  the  means 
of  grace.  '■ '  Invitations  to  visit  many  other  places 
were  addressed  to  the  pastors.  They  could  not 
alwa5'S  refuse,  but  readily  went  wherever  it  was 
possible  for  them.  The  people  who  approached 
them  with  these  solicitations  generally  lived  in 
thinly  populated  regions,  for  which  reason,  and 
especially  because,  like  most  of  the  Germans  in 
the  country,  they  are  poor  in  this  world's  goods, 
upon  their  first  arrival  they  cannot  well  support 
a  pastor.  May  the  Lord  in  His  mercy  regard 
these  congregations  that  are  yet  to  be  provided 
for."      ("Halle  Reports.") 

All  these  men  recognized  the  fact  that  Muhlen- 
berg had  done  the  pioneer  work,  and  was  fitted  by 
nature  and  experience,  as  well  as  by  his  official 
appointment  from  London  and  Halle,  to  act  as 
their  superior  and  guide.  Brunnholtz  was  ever 
\0y2l  to  his  superior.  Thej^  agreed  to  exchange  pul- 
pits every  four  or  six  weeks.  Neither  was  to  under- 
take anything  of  importance  in  his  own  parish 
without  first  having  advised  with  the  other.  In 
fact,  they  had  frequent  pastoral  conferences,  out 
of  which  at  last  grew  a  Synod. 

Brunnholtz  reports  :  ' '  The  Lord  did  not  per- 
mit Muhlenberg's  enemies  to  succeed,  but  favored 
him  the  more  powerfully  in  the  conviction  and 


CO-LABORERS    IN  THE  VINEYARD.  79 

conversion  of  many  souls."  Then  some  instances 
follow  :  ''In  Philadelphia,  he  baptized  an  mi- 
married  woman,  twenty-five  years  of  age,  the 
daughter  of  Quaker  parents  ;  in  New  Hanover  a 
Quaker  and  four  children  ;  in  Providence  a  German 
of  good  social  standing,  with  his  five  children.  The 
man  had  for  some  considerable  time  been  impressed 
with  the  Word  of  God  ;  at  last  he  broke  through 
all  restraining  bounds."  Muhlenberg  says  that 
he  might  give  other  indications  of  good  results, 
but  he  thinks  that  ' '  it  might  be  better  to  wait  so 
as  to  ascertain  accurately  whether  they  are  sub- 
stantial and  enduring." 

That  Muhlenberg  carried  a  cool  head,  as  well  as 
a  warm  heart,  is  seen  in  his  judgment  on  the 
emotionalism  of  his  day.  ' '  You  will  see  many 
signs  of  weakness,  and,  yet,  evidences  of  good  re- 
sults. We  are  not  disposed  to  make  such  a  dis- 
play of  our  affairs  as  others  have  a  fashion  of  do- 
ing, who,  out  of  three  or  four  half -con  verted  peo- 
ple (yet  God  knows  them),  will  create  an  aston- 
ishingly pious  congregation.  I  have  an  abhor- 
rence of  all  such  boastings,  because  an  unsound 
principle  lies  at  the  bottom  of  it."  His  rejoicing 
over  these  first  fruits  is  genuine,  but,  as  befits  a 
prudent  mission  ar)%  not  effusive. 

On  April  22d,  1745,  Muhlenberg  took  a  step 
that  told  the  world  that  he  had  come  to  America 
to  stay.  He  had  three  homes  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  yet  no  home.  For  thirty-four  years  he  had 
been  ' '  wandering  about  in  the  wilderness  of  this 
world"  without  finding  an  helpmeet  for  him. 
On  the  above  date,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Anna  Mary  \\^eiser,  daughter  of  Conrad 
Weiser,  Esq.,  of  Tulpehocken.  Rev.  Tobias 
Wagner  was  the  officiating  minister. 

Born     June    24th,  1727,   the  bride  lacked  two 


80  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

months  of  being  eighteen  3^ears  of  age.  but  atoned 
for  this  by  her  country  hfe  and  experience  on  the 
frontier.  She  hved  in  wedlock  forty-two  j^ears, 
and  survived  her  husband  fifteen  years,  dying 
August  23d,  1802,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years. 

"  It  had  always  been  my  intention,"  writes 
Muhlenberg,  "to  remain  unmarried;  but  very 
hkely  the  devil  in  his  cunning  tried  to  involve  me 
in  a  dilemma.  In  the  city  I  Avas  told,  '  Sir,  j^ou 
must  remain  in  this  country.  I  know  a  good 
spouse  for  you.'  In  the  country  some  blunt  set- 
tler would  say,  '  The  parson  must  become  my  son.' 

''Besides,  circumstances  of  a  private  nature 
often  occurred  in  the  course  of  my  ministerial 
duty,  visiting  the  sick  and  the  like.  Kow,  had  I 
yielded  to  the  spirit  and  fashion  of  the  world,  and 
made  wealth  an  object,  I  would  have  been  in- 
volved very  soon.  But  when  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  live  unmarried,  then  the  devil  went  to 
work  in  an  infamous  way  with  gross  slanders  to 
befoul  me  and  my  work."  The  instance  of  that 
wicked  woman  before  mentioned  is  cited.  ' '  I  could 
not  get  along  without  some  female  attendant.  I 
could  not  and  would  not  employ  young  girls,  and 
old  women  require  servants  themselves.  Also, 
when  a  clerical  brother  visited  me,  such  an  atten- 
dant became  necessary."  His  apology  for  mat- 
rimony ought  to  have  been  satisfactory  to  the 
Fathers. 

"As  to  the  principle  of  selection,  I  consider 
nothing  but  piety  as  requisite.  The  Lord  also 
regarded  my  prayers,  and  granted  me  a  young 
woman,  who  is  pure  in  heart,  pious,  unpretentious, 
meek,  and  active.  .  .  .  The  whole  affair  was 
the  occasion  of  much  gossiping,  but  my  congre- 
gations are  well  satisfied  and  extend  to  my  wife 
many  proofs  of  their  regard  and  love." 


CO-LABORERS   IN  THE  VINEYARD.  81 

His  faithful  Anna  fully  sympathized  with  his 
missionary  work,  and  did  her  full  share  in  main- 
taining his  home  as  missionary  headquarters  in 
America,  frequented  by  pastors,  schoolmasters, 
and  students  of  theology  at  all  hours  and  for  in- 
definite periods  of  time.  Owing  to  her  husband's 
protracted  absences  the  burden  of  the  growing 
family  devolved  entirely  upon  her.  Under  it  she 
showed  sincere  trust  in  God  and  ardent  devotion 
to  His  kingdom. 

Col.  Weiser,  as  he  was  called  after  the  War  of 
'55,  was  of  great  value  to  Muhlenberg  as  a  friend 
and  sage  counselor.  His  friendship  carried  weight 
in  political  circles.  Father-in-law  and  son-in-law 
frequently  exchanged  visits  and  correspondence, 
and  took  at  least  one  important  journey  together. 

Muhlenberg  was  now  anchored  to  his  work  and  the 
land  of  his  spouse.  Though  foreign-born,  he  was 
an  American  of  the  Americans,  and  became  the 
head  of  a  family  illustrious  in  Church  and  State, 
and  conspicuous  for  their  intense  loyalty  to  their 
native  land. 

He  took  his  bride  at  once  to  the  city.  Until 
a  house  could  be  built  on  the  seven- acre  plot 
that  he  had  purchased  at  "The  Trappe  "  (Provi- 
dence), he  supplied  the  Philadelphia  pulpit. 
In  June  they  settled  in  the  country,  where  they 
remained  for  sixteen  years,  or  until  1761,  when 
the  country  parson  again  became  the  city  parson. 
At  "The  Trappe"  eight  of  his  eleven  children 
were  born.  Thither  he  retired  to  spend  the  even- 
ing of  his  days,  1776  to  1787,  and  there  he  lies 
interred  in  the  family  burial  plot. 

The  simplicity  of  his  character  and  his  prefer- 
ence for  rural  surroundings  appear  from  this  en- 
try :  "  Although  it  brings  us  somewhat  into  debt, 
still  I  have  a  respectable  home  where  I  can  raise 
6 


82  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

the  necessary  grain  for  my  bread,  keep  a  horse 
and  pair  of  horned  cattle,  and  keep  house  with 
more  comfort  and  economy.  Here,  then,  we  have 
our  earthly  abode,  where  we  can  dry  our  gar- 
ments after  exposure  to  storms  and  rains.  We  re- 
joice in  the  lot  assigned  to  us,  that  our  home  is  in 
Providence  until  we  reach  the  true  Fatherland  at 
last." 


Jesus,  still  lead  on, 

Till  our  Rest  be  won  ! 

And  although  the  way  be  cheerless, 

We  will  follow,  calm  and  fearless. 

Guide  us  by  Thy  hand 

To  our  Fatherland." 


CHAPTER  IV. 


GRUBBING   AND    PRUNING. 

Briars  and  Thorns  at  Germantown — Arbitrator  in  the 
Earitan  Parish— Open  Doors — Nyberg,  of  Lancaster — 
Sets  Out  New  Plants  Toward  Easton  and  Perkasie — 
Cures  One  Schoolmaster  of  Conceit,  Another  of  Selfish- 
ness— "Augustus  Church,"  at  "The  Trappe,"  Dedi- 
cated— Shuns  Union  Churches.     ( 1745. ) 

And  now  go  to  ;  I  will  tell  you  what  I  will  do  to  my  vineyard :  I  will 
tiike  away  the  hedge  thereof,  and  it  shall  be  eaten  up  ;  and  break  down 
the  wall  thereof,  and  it  shall  be  trodden  down  : 

And  I  will  lay  it  waste  ;  it  shall  not  be  pruned,  nor  digged,  but  there 
shall  come  up  briars  and  thorns  ;  I  will  also  command  the  clouds  that 
they  rain  no  rain  upon  it.— Isa.  v.  5,  6. 

Every  branch  in  me  that  beareth  not  fruit,  he  taketh  away:  and 
every  branch  that  beareth  fruit,  he  purgeth  it,  that  it  may  bring  forth 
more  fruit. — John  xv.  2. 

The  work  of  1743  was  but  a  feeble  beginning. 
The  desolations  of  many  jears  would  require  the 
energetic  co-operation  of  many  a  laborer  to  cor- 
rect. The  hedges  were  indeed  broken  down,  or, 
rather,  they  had  never  been  built  up.  The  vine- 
yard lay  exposed  on  all  sides,  ' '  a  most  unculti- 
vated field,"  with  many  a  briary  patch  that 
needed  to  be  grubbed  up,  and  many  a  rank  un- 
profitable growth  that  needed  the  pruning  knife. 
IMuhlenberg,  who  conceived  that  his  call  by  no 
means  limited  his  activity  to  three  or  four  churches 
in  one  corner  of  Pennsylvania,  made  war  on  the 
briars  and  thorns,  from  Mason  and  Dixon's  Line 
and  beyond,  in  a  wide  circle,  clear  to  the  Hudson. 

To  begin  near  home,  at  a  confessional  service  in 
Germantown^  he  admonished  the  deacons  to  do 
(83) 


84  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

their  duty  with  reference  to  certain  offenders,  prob- 
ably drunkards.  This  enraged  them  and  they 
began  to  work  against  him.  ' '  There  is  yet  a  con- 
siderable number  of  rough  branches,"  he  says, 
' '  and  if  we  come  too  close  to  their  consciences 
they  let  loose  and  cry  out,  '  What  right  has  the 
priest  over  me?  Of  course  I  pay  him  by  the 
year  ;  but  if  his  preaching  does  not  please  my 
taste  I'  11  go  to  another  church  and  get  my  preach- 
ing for  nothing.' 

"  Other  people, "  he  adds,  ''iire  so  friendly  that, 
if  they  could,  they  would  divide  their  own  hearts 
with  their  pastor.  Such  persons  often  plead  with 
tears  that  we  should  not  let  them  suffer  for  the 
acts  of  their  opponents.  These  devout  persons 
are,  for  the  most  part,  poor.  It  is  a  hard  thing 
when  the  pastor  has  to  depend  for  his  support 
upon  congregations,  the  larger  part  of  the  member- 
ship of  which  is  yet  unconverted." 

Toward  the  close  of  1745  he  writes  joyfully  : 
' '  After  great  toil  and  trouble  I  have,  with  the 
help  of  God,  brought  the  congregation  at  New 
Hanover  into  such  a  condition  that  it  is  now,  per- 
haps, the  largest  congregation  in  the  whole 
country  ;  and,  although  it  yet  may  have  some 
wild  old  branches,  nevertheless  the  Divine  bless- 
ing abounds  upon  it,  and  some  of  the  members 
are  specially  rich  in  good  works." 

Again,  "Since  the  arrival  of  my  brethren  I 
have  had  very  little  leisure."  He  was  the  kind 
of  man  that  could  always  find  work.  "I  have 
been  traveling  upon  my  horse  :  the  work  grows 
larger  and  larger."  Directly  east  of  the  '' Forks 
of  the  Delaware"  (Easton),  in  New  Jersey,  in 
German  Valley,  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Rari- 
tan  River,  were  certain  congregations  to  which 
Muhlenberg  devoted  more  personal  attention  than 


GRUBBING  AND  PRUNING.  85 

to  any  other  distant  point,  save  New  York  City. 
Kev.  J.  A.  Wolf  had  come  from  Hamburg  on 
their  appeal  ;  but,  though  learned  and  orthodox, 
he  lacked  humihty  and  common-sense.  He  de- 
livered learned  sermons  from  manuscript  to  plain 
farmers.  He  ill-treated  his  Avife,  and  got  a  sepa- 
ration from  her.  And  the  people  were  unable  to 
oust  him.  Finally  the  matter  was  referred  to 
Muhlenberg,  Wagner,  and  Knoll,  of  New  York 
City,  as  arbitrators.  Wolf  accepted  £90  and  gave 
up  his  office.  Muhlenberg  was  able  to  pacify  the 
officers  and  members,  who  had  already  spent  much 
money  in  defending  themselves  at  law  against  this 
clerical  scamp. 

This  trip  of  sixty  miles  each  way  had  to  be  re- 
peated in  the  autumn.  The  church  was  exhausted 
spiritually  as  well  as  financially.  Neither  com- 
munion lior  confirmation  had  been  held  for  eight 
years.  In  his  letter  of  November  17th,  1745,  he 
savs  :  ' '  Several  congregations  are  worrying  us  to 
help  them  ;  the  congregations  on  the  Raritan  are 
especially  important.  Delays  are  dangerous,  for 
false  teachers  are  sneaking  about.  I  instructed 
and  confirmed  twenty-four  adults,  a  short  time 
ago,  at  that  place.  The  people  expressed  their 
wishes  to  me  with  many  tears. ' '  He  also  succeeded 
in  establishing  a  joint  vestry  of  four  elders  and 
two  deacons  from  each  of  the  four  congregations, 
and  induced  them  to  build  a  central  stone  church 
of  large  dimensions.  Thus  he  won  name  and 
fame  east  of  the  Delaware. 

His  comment,  in  transmitting  the  request  for  a 
pastor,  has  a  true  missionary  ring.  ' '  Now,  if  the 
door  be  once  opened  for  us  here,  we  can  extend 
our  operations  in  the  surrounding  regions.  But 
alas  !  alas  !  The  congregations  are  open,  and  the 
Moravians  are  already  on  the  borders  and  look- 


86  HENRY    MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

ing  for  opportunity  to  enter  in.  According  to  my 
experience  the  people  in  Jersey  have  much  more 
reverence  and  respect  for  reHgion  and  Divine  wor- 
ship than  they  have  in  rough  Pennsylvania. "  De- 
ploring the  lack  of  competent  laborers  he  says  : 
"If  I  were  one  with  the  Moravians,  I  would  soon 
have  laborers  and  assistants  enough.  0  my  God  ! 
Thou  hast  all  power  to  help,  and  wilt  help  in  time 
of  need. 

*' '  Thy  every  act  is  blessing, 
Thy  course  is  perfect  liglit.' 

I  will  sing  with  my  brethren, 

"  *  CoEQmit  to  God  thy  ways.' 

0  how  gladly  would  I  see  our  Evangehcal  Church 
set  forward  on  a  better  course  in  this  land.  Here 
the  old  saying  comes  in,  '  Either — or. '  If  we 
sleep,  others  enters  in." 

Trouble  of  another  sort  called  him  to  the  young 
town  of  Lancaster  seventy-five  miles  off  to  the 
west.  After  Stoever  ceased  his  ministrations  there, 
Dylander  gave  the  Lancastrians  occasional  ser- 
vice. In  response  to  a  petition  sent  through  Koch 
to  the  Archbishop  of  Upsala,  an  attractive  young 
man,  named  Nyberg,  was  sent  to  fill  the  pulpit. 
Within  a  year  this  popular  young  preacher  came 
out  openly  in  favor  of  the  Moravians.  The  con- 
gregation was  split  in  twain.  The  courts  and  even 
the  Governor  were  appealed  to  ;  the  church  was 
violently  closed,  and  was  broken  open  by  force. 
Muhlenberg  appears  to  have  made  a  visit  to  Lan- 
caster in  1745.  At  any  rate,  he  asked  the  fathers 
to  get  the  opinion  of  leading  German  and  Swedish 
Universities  on  Nyberg' s  position,  that  "a  man 
can  be  a  genuine  Lutheran  and  a  genuine  Mora- 
vian at  the  same  time,"  so  that  he  might  be  able 


GRUBBING  AND  PRUNING.  87 

to  give  satisfactory  testimony  if  summoned  before 
the  courts  as  witness.  We  shall  hear  later  of  this 
matter. 

A  more  congenial  occupation  was  the  setting  out 
of  new  vines  and  the  nursing  of  the  tender  shoots 
found  here  and  there,  in  order  that  the  vineyard 
might  be  extended.  In  this  year  we  read  of  out- 
posts at  Upper  Milford  and  Saucon  (in  Lehigh 
County),  which  he  visited  once  a  month,  "a  cer- 
tain town  more  than  a  day's  journey  from  New 
Hanover"  (Easton),  Perkasie,  etc.  A  busy  vine- 
dresser was  he. 

As  both  men  eventually  developed  into  useful 
ministers,  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  mention  that  the 
catechists,  for  a  while,  proved  something  of  a 
thorn  in  the  flesh,  especially  Kurtz.  As  they  had 
little  experience  in  preaching,  they  were  instructed 
to  memorize  one  of  Rambach's  sermons  on  the 
Catechism.  Kurtz  was  flattered  into  preaching 
''sermons  partly  extempore  and  partly  his  own 
composition."  The  young  fellow  even  ventured 
to  parade  personal  and  private  affairs  in  the  pul- 
pit. "  The  old  Adam  grew  so  strong  in  him  that 
he  began  to  think  that  he  was  the  only  preacher 
in  the  land,  and  all  the  rest  of  us  were  blusterers. 
He  bought  a  horse  and  saddle  for  himself  for 
£12,  of  which  I  had  known  nothing,  and  prom- 
ised to  pay  the  next  autumn" — contracting  a 
needless  debt.  Muhlenberg  then  describes  the 
good  income  of  the  catechist.  ' '  He  can  live  like 
a  nobleman  in  Germany.  In  my  heart  I  wish 
that  he  may  hve  in  meekness  and  walk  in  a 
humble  spirit.  My  reverend  Fathers,  I  have  to 
say  that  if  a  preacher  or  catechist  from  Europe 
has  not  been  thoroughly  converted,  then^  we  can 
entertain  poor  hopes  of  him  in  Pennsylvania.  The 
condition  of  affairs  in  this  free,  strange  country 


88  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

is  such  that  people  are  very  easily  seduced  into 
carnal  indulgence  and  dissolute  habits,  and  for 
young  beginners  especially  the  danger  is  immi- 
nent." 

When  Muhlenberg  and  Brunnholtz  wrote  out 
the  young  man's  call — it  was  in  English,  as  was 
Brunnholtz' s,  and  nearly  all  official  documents 
drawn  up  by  Muhlenberg — and  designated  him  as 
"schoolmaster  and  assistant,"  he  complained  to 
Schaum  that  we  had  "put  our  heads  together 
and  spelled  out  a  call  for  him,  intending  to  make 
him  a  schoolmaster,"  instead  of  admitting  him 
to  the  ministry,  but  he  ''must  have  patience  and 
put  up  with  it  !" 

Such  conduct  wounded  and  humiliated  Muhl- 
enberg ;  but  he  knew  how  to  deal  with  such  weak- 
ne'^'ses  so  as  to  save  the  offender.  ' '  I  took  him 
entirely  alone,  and  with  the  earnest  heart  of  a 
brother  I  urged  him  to  sincere  repentance.  He 
then  promised,  with  tears,  to  follov/  the  thread 
which  the  Fathers  had  given  him." 

Schaum  kept  talking  about  returning  to  Ger- 
many when  his  three  years  expired.  Muhlen- 
berg, in  a  fatherly  way,  explained  to  the  young 
man  that  the  Church  had  been  at  great  expense  in 
sending  him  to  America,  and  set  before  him  the 
gracious  and  wonderful  leadings  of  God  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  American  vineyard.  This  sat- 
isfied him. 

"  To  end  this  subject :  Here  is  '  Ecclesia  Plan- 
tanda '  in  a  juncture  that  is  quite  critical :  and 
for  this  work  experienced  men,  strong  men,  are 
needed,  men  who  will  stand  in  the  breach,  and  in 
whom  great  patience  and  self-denial  shall  be 
joined  with  the  daring  of  a  hero.  I  am  not  the 
man,"  he  says  deprecatingiy,  "as  the  reverend 
Fathers  vrell  know  ;  but  I  hold  mv  excellent  col- 


GRUBBING   AND   PRUNING.  OSf 

league,  Brnnnholtz,  to  be  such  a  man  ;  and  my 
wish  is  that  he  had  two  or  three  assistants  hke 
himself.  Then  the  work  would  prosper.  God 
could  easily  find  work  for  me  in  some  obscure 
corner."  Muhlenberg's  "  obscure  corner,"  as  the 
Church  well  knows,  would  soon  have  become  the 
brightest  spot  in  America. 

It  is  this  circumstance  that  lends  so  much  in- 
terest to  this  venerable  Augustus  Church  at  The 
Trappe.  There  are  earlier  Lutheran  Churches 
still  standing,  but  their  Episcopalian  owners  call 
them  simply  "  Old  Swedes'  Churches."  Larger 
Lutheran  Churches  were  erected  by  Muhlenberg 
in  Philadelphia  :  they  have  been  swept  away  by 
the  march  of  progress.  But '  'Augustus  Church ' ' — 
probably  named  in  honor  of  Hermann  Augustus 
Francke — remains  substantially  as  it  was  dedi- 
cated October  6th,  1745.  Though  long  super- 
seded by  a  modern  building,  it  is  annually  opened 
for  a  memorial  service.  The  material  is  stone. 
A  hip  roof  crowns  the  structure.  A  vestibule  is 
built  at  one  side  of  the  church  and  another  at  the 
end.  On  the  opposite  side,  against  the  wall,  is 
tlie  pulpit,  with  the  usual  sounding  board  over  it. 
Affixed  to  the  outer  wall  is  a  stone  with  this  in- 
scription in  Latin  :  "  Under  the  auspices  of  Christ, 
Henry  Melchoir  Muhlenberg,  together  with  his 
Council,  I.  N.  Crosman,  F.  Marsteler,  A.  Heilman, 
I.  Mueller,  H.  Haas,  and  G.  Kepner,  erected  from 
the  very  foundation  this  temple  dedicated  by  the 
Society  holding  the  Augsburg  Confession,  A.  D. 
1743." 

Like  all  the  churches  that  Muhlenberg  erected 
this  was  a  purely  Lutheran  Church.  He  stead- 
fastly resisted  every  proposal  of  the  Reformed  to 
erect  a  so-called  "  Union  Church,"  which  the  two 
denominations  should  hold  and  use  jointly. 


90  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

Muhlenberg  was  assisted  at  this  dedicatory  ser- 
vice by  the  Pastors  Brunnholtz,  Wagner,  and 
Nyberg.  After  publicly  examining  them  in  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Church,  he  baptized 
three  negro  slaves  of  an  Episcopal  Church  warden, 
who  said  that  ''Dutch  baptism  was  good  enough 
for  blacks. ' '     The  other  pastors  acted  as  sponsors. 

' '  This  temple ' '  marked  the  fact  that  the  days 
of  uncertainty  were  at  an  end.  A  man  of  broad 
views  and  fixed  purpose  was  in  command.  One 
can  well  imagine  the  joy  that  filled  the  hearts  of 
the  Mission  Board,  in  Europe,  when  the  Reports 
from  Pennsylvania  were  received,  announcing  : 
' '  The  Success  of  Our  Pennsylvania  Mission  As- 
sured— A  Church  Dedicated  at  The  Trappe  !  " 


CHAPTER  V. 

NURTURING   THE   TENDER   VINES. 

Muhlenberg  as  Preacher — Rules  for  an  Edifying  Sermon 
— Catechisation  on  the  Sermon  Preached — Muhlenberg 
as  Pastor — His  Method  of  Holding  Preparatory  Service 
and  Holy  Communion— Dealing  with  Backsliders— 
The  Unmitred  Bishop — Lancaster  Troubles  Ended — 
First  Visit  to  York,  Pa. — Petitions  from  Mohawk  Val- 
ley, N.  Y. — Grandfather  Weiser's  Visit— Schlatter's 
Visit — Birth  of  Peter  INIuhlenberg — Personal  Hard- 
ships and  Accidents — No  Time  for  Study — Correspond- 
ence.    (1746.) 

And  he  answering  said  unto  him,  Lord,  let  it  alone  this  year  also, 
till  I  shall  dig  about  it  and  dung  it : 

And  if  it  bear  fruit,  well ;  and  if  not,  then  "after  that  thou  shalt  cut 
it  down.— Luke  xiii.  8,  9. 

Take  us  the  foxes,  the  little  foxes,  that  spoil  the  vines  :  for  our  vine^ 
have  tender  grapes. — Sol.  ii.  15. 

The  Patriarch  was  not  content  with  merely 
grubbing  up  the  briars  and  thorns  and  pruning 
away  the  rank  growths.  Far  more  to  his  taste 
was  the  direct  culture  of  the  vine  itself,  which  he 
accomplished  by  the  preaching  of  the  nourishing 
Word  of  God,  in  private  as  well  a?  from  the 
pulpit. 

His  usual  custom  at  this  period  of  his  ministry 
was  to  preach  a  sermon  of  from  thirty  to  forty-five 
minutes  in  length  on  the  Gospel  for  the  Day. 
That  he  frequently  preached  on  other  texts  is  evi- 
dent from  previous  chapters ;  also,  that  he 
preached  as  much  on  the  Third  Article  of  the 
Creed  as  on  the  other  two.  It  was,  in  fact,  charac- 
teristic of  the  Halle  men  to  lay  the  emphasis 
(91) 


92  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

rather  on  ''God's  work  in  us"  than  on  ''God's 
work  for  US."  Without  by  any  means  faiUng  to 
describe  fully  the  Person  and  Work  of  Christ,  Muh- 
lenberg dwelt  at  greater  length  on  the  condition  of 
the  inner  life,  on  regeneration  and  conversion, 
repentance  and  faith,  holiness  and  blessedness. 

IMuhlenberg  was  an  attractive  preacher,  whom 
men  crowded  to  hear.  Less  eloquent  than  Hel- 
muth,  less  learned  than  Kunze,  he  excelled  both 
as  an  edifying,  popular  preacher.  He  used  many 
illustrations,  drawn  from  daily  life,  and  many  re- 
ligious anecdotes.  At  a  certain  synodical  meeting 
he  gave  this  opinion  as  to  the  correct  mode  of 
preaching  : 

"  In  our  sermons  we  ought  to  make  no  ostenta- 
tious display  of  learning,  but  come  down  to  the 
level  of  the  people.  We  should  neither  beat  the 
air  nor  use  low  and  vulgar  expressions,  not  intro- 
duce too  much  matter  into  the  sermon,  but  dis- 
cuss one  fundamental  truth  fully,  prove  it  thor- 
oughly, and  apply  it  to  the  heart.  Our  sermons 
should  not  be  too  dry,  but  practical.  Religion 
should  be  presented,  not  as  a  burden,  but  as  a 
pleasure.  Avoid  personahties.  Let  not  the  love 
of  Jesus  be  obscured  by  self-love.  Let  personal 
difficulties  be  settled  in  your  pastoral  visits. 

' '  Error  must  be  refuted.  Since  our  church 
members  dwell  among  all  kinds  of  hostile  sects, 
controversy  cannot  be  avoided  ;  yet  you  should 
not  mention  names.  The  matter  should  be  so 
treated  that  the  unholy  founts  of  heres}^  and  sec- 
tarianism are  exposed  with  due  humility  and 
moderation.  As  many  parties  dwell  together,  in- 
termarry, and  have  business  relations  with  one 
another,  a  dangerous  indifferentism  easily  arises. 
Therefore  it  is  necessary  at  all  times  to  point  out 
[doctrinal]  differences,  as  otherwise  the  suspicion 


NURTURING   THE   TENDER   VINES.  93 

of  indifference  may  also  fall  upon  the  preacher. 
Carefully  inquire  into  the  moral  condition  of  the 
members,  and  let  it  be  a  guide  in  the  preparation 
of  sermons.  Above  all,  let  us  sow  -with  tears,  and 
have  the  edification  of  each  individual  at  heart, 
and  take  heed  unto  ourselves  and  unto  the  doc- 
trine." 

After  the  sermon,  Muhlenberg,  following  the 
custom  of  the  Halle  men  generally,  would  recapit- 
ulate the  sermon  in  the  form  of  questions  ad- 
dressed to  his  hearers  and  answers  obtained  from 
them,  ''so  that  both  old  and  young  might  the 
better  comprehend  the  matter  and  reflect  upon 
it." 

It  was  his  custom  to  preach  funeral  sermons, 
because  it  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  press  im- 
portant truths  home  upon  tender  hearts,  and  to 
reach  outsiders.  Formerly  at  weddings  there  was 
a  dreadful  racket,  drunkenness,  dancing,  etc. 
Now  a  wedding  sermon  -w'as  expected,  and  Muh- 
lenberg was  asked  to  the  feast.  At  table  they 
engaged  in  edifying  religious  conversation  and  the 
singing  of  hymns.  He  mentions  cases  of  wed- 
dings outside  of  his  parish,  where  the  licentious- 
ness was  to  begin  after  he  left;  but  his  own  young 
people  fled  ancl  went  home. 

He  celebrated  the  Lord's  Supper  twice  a  year 
in  each  country  congregation,  after  this  manner  : 

"During  the  week  preceding  the  Communion 
everyone  who  wishes  to  partake  of  it  is  expected 
to  visit  the  pastor,  either  in  the  parsonage  or  in 
the  school-house.  The  pastor  then  speaks  with 
him  faithfully  and  tenderly  about  the  state  of  his 
heart  and  the  character  of  his  life.  He  inquires 
into  his  growth  in  grace,  and  gives  him  the  neces- 
sary admonition,  instruction,  and  consolation. 

"On  the  day  before  the  Communion  those  whose 


94  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

names  have  been  recorded  attend  the  preparatory 
service  in  the  church.  After  the  sermon  they  all 
come  forward  and  stand  around  the  altar.  If  there 
be  any  amongst  them  who  have  been  guilty  of 
gross  offense,  these  are  then  personally  called  to 
account.  The  pastor  then  reminds  them  of  the 
evil  they  have  done,  and  questions  them  about 
their  repentance,  their  faith,  and  their  promise  of 
reformation.  If  their  answers  are  satisfactory, 
the  pastor  asks  the  other  communicants  if  they 
wall  forgive  their  offending  brother,  and  unite  with 
him  in  imploring  forgiveness  for  Christ' s  sake.  .  . 
In  conclusion,  they  are  asked  if  anyone  has  yet 
any  cause  of  complaint  against  another.  If  this 
happens  to  be  the  case,  they  then  retire  to  the  par- 
sonage, confer  with  each  other,  and  are  reconciled. 

"On  Sunday  there  is  a  sermon  on  the  Holy 
Supper.  After  the  sermon  the  consecration  and 
distribution  take  place.  As  there  is  but  one 
preacher,  and  the  administration  lasts  very  long, 
we  sing  but  one  hymn  at  the  beginning,  and  after- 
ward the  schoolmaster  reads  the  history  of  our 
Saviour's  sufferings  and  death  from  the  four  Gos- 
pels, that  we  may  make  known  the  Lord's  death, 
and  consider  how  much  it  cost  Him  to  redeem  us. 
Sometimes  we  also  read  the  prayers  appropriate  to 
the  Sacrament  from  Arndt's  '  Garden  of  Paradise,^ 
which  are  very  edifying. 

['  The  day  is  very  burdensome  for  one  preacher. 
In  New  Hanover  I  have  several  times  had  over 
three  hundred  German  communicants,  and  after- 
ward the  little  company  of  English  Lutherans. 
Then,  besides  that,  the  confirmants,  who  were  first 
carefully  examined  and  confirmed,  and,  in  addi- 
tion, several  weddings  and  baptisms.  So  that  I 
begin  at  8  a.  m.  and  do  not  finish  before  4  p.  m. 
When  we  are  through  with  that,  there  is  often  a 


NUBTURING    THE   TENDER   VINES^  95 

sick  person  three  to  six  English  miles  distant  to 
be  visited." 

We  have  an  extended  account  of  the  confes- 
sional, or  preparatory,  service  held  at  Tulpe- 
hocken.  It  shows  his  pastoral  tact  and  faithful- 
ness, and  his  discriminating  use  of  the  Law  and 
the  Gospel : 

'^We  examine  the  communicants  with  great 
rigor.  We  press  home  upon  them  both  Law  and 
Gospel.  We  preach  repentance,  faith,  and  the 
fruits  of  righteousness.  We  point  out  to  them  the 
benefits  that  faith  may  expect  to  find  in  the  Sac- 
raments, and,  with  the  help  of  God,  we  seek  to 
keep  our  conscience  clear.  We  dig  about  the  old 
trees  ;  we  plant  and  water,  and  pray  God  to  send 
the  increase. 

' '  I  had  been  previously  informed  that  two  per- 
sons, whose  names  I  recorded,  had  been  addicted 
to  intemperance.  I  called  first  upon  one  of  them 
to  state  before  the  congregation  how  it  was  at  this 
time.  Deep  agitation  prevented  a  direct  answer 
from  the  individual,  but  certain  members  of  the 
family  replied  that  a  reformation  had  been  in  prog- 
ress for  some  time  already,  and  that,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  they  hoped  for  a  complete  recovery. 

' '  The  other  one,  whom  I  had  myself  seen  under 
the  influence  of  strong  drink,  was  then  called  up 
and  exhorted  to  repent.  He  replied  that  he  had 
already  refrained  from  intemperate  drinking  for 
the  space  of  six  months.  I  then  told  him  that 
such  an  offense  was  an  evidence  that  his  heart  was 
yet  unconverted,  and  pointed  out  how  he  might, 
through  grace,  obtain  the  forgiveness  of  all  his  sins 
and  adoption  into  the  family  of  God.  This,  how- 
ever, enraged  him,  and,  replying  in  offensive  terms, 
he  went  off. 

*'I  then  exhorted  the  congregation  with  much 


96  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

warmth,  telling  them  that  they  should  by  no 
means  think  that  freedom  from  gross  sin  consti- 
tuted a  worthy  communicant ;  because  a  heart 
truly  penitent^  and  hungering  and  thirsting  after 
righteousness,  was  here  the  one  thing  needful.  I 
taught  them,  too,  how  such  a  heart  should  be  ob- 
tained." 

In  this  spirit,  as  a  true,  though  unmitred  bishop, 
he  continued  to  visit  vacant  or  disturbed  congre- 
gations. In  1746  he  made  two  trips  to  the  Rari- 
tan  churches,  two  more  to  Lancaster — the  first 
with  Brunnholtz  in  February  and  the  other  in 
April — continuing  on  to  York,  nearly  one  hundred 
miles  from  his  home,  and  a  special  one  in  Novem- 
ber to  Tulpehocken,  half  as  far  away. 

The  Lancaster  trips  were  most  distressing  to 
Muhlenberg's  peace-loving  nature.  The  Luther- 
ans had  finally  gained  the  victory  in  the  courts. 
But  the  Nyl^erg  party  threatened  trouble  if  Muh- 
lenberg ventured  to  preach  in  Trinity  Church,  not 
yet  so  designated.  He  asked  for  the  use  of  the 
Court  House  ;  but,  being  told  by  the  Lutherans 
that  noAV,  if  ever,  they  must  insist  on  their  right 
to  the  church,  he  yielded,  and  preached  on  Luke 
xiii.  6-8,  ''The  Barren  Fig  Tree." 

The  enemy  retired,  and  built  a  separate  Mora- 
vian church.  Trinity  was  saved.  Except  for  an 
occasional  visit  by  Philadelphia  pastors,  there  was 
no  service  until  Catechist  Kurtz  began  to  come 
down  from  Tulpehocken  once  a  month  in  1747, 
and  Llandschah  took  pastoral  charge  in  1748. 

Nyberg  had  been  meddling  with  the  promising 
young  vines  at  York,  where  there  was  a  pastorless 
congregation  of  one  hundred  and  ten  famiUes,  to 
whom  an  excellent  parochial  school-teacher  read  a 
sermon  every  Sunday.  Hence  Muhlenberg's  first 
visit  there.     He  baptized  a  number  of  children, 


KUETURIKG    THE   TEKDER   VINES.  97 

and  confirmed  some  whom  the  teacher  had  in- 
structed. 

This  year  petitions  came  to  him  from  Lutherans 
settled  in  the  Mohawk  Valley,  New  York.  In 
fact,  he  was  unable  to  find  time  for  all  the  de- 
mands upon  him  for  visits,  not  to  speak  of  his 
extensive  missionary  correspondence. 

Lest  the  Fathers  might  think  that,  with  two 
churches  and  three  regular  preaching  points  (Oley, 
near  New  Hanover,  Upper  Milford,  and  Saccum 
or  Saucon,  near  Bethlehem),  he  could  get  along 
without  missionary  aid  from  the  Mother-Church, 
he  explains  that  both  churches  and  farmers  are 
poor  and  struggling  with  debt  for  lands  and  build- 
ings, and  that  the  war  between  Spain  and  France 
has  so  kept  down  prices  that  the  farmers  get  little 
money  into  their  hands. 

Some  time  during  1746  the  Muhlenberg  family 
was  honorecl  with  a  visit  by  old  Grandfather  John 
Conrad  Weiser,  of  New  York  State.  Hearing  of 
his  children's  prosperity  in  Pennsylvania,  he 
would,  like  Jacob  of  old,  see  his  Joseph  ere  he 
died.  Though  already  past  eighty  years  of  age,  he 
pressed  on  to  Providence  in  order  to  converse  with 
his  clerical  grandson  about  his  soul.  His  infirmi- 
ties of  sight  and  hearing  m^^de  it  almost  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  understand  Muhlenberg,  but  the  old 
man  kept  repeating  Bible  passages  like  ' '  Surely 
He  hath  borne  our  griefs, "  ' '  Come  unto  Me  all 
ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy-laden,"  and  stanzas 
of  hymns  like 

*'  0  Father,  cover  all  my  sins 

With  Jesus'  merits,  who  alone 
The  pardon  that  I  covet  wins, 
And  make  His  long-sought  rest  my  own.*' 

**  My  God,  for  Jesus'  sake,  I  pray, 
Thy  peace  may  bless  my  dying  day." 
7 


98  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

*'0,  how  good  it  is,"  remarks  Muhlenberg, 
''in  one's  youth  to  lay  up  treasures  taken  from 
the  Word  of  God.  Even  if  it  does  not  at  once 
produce  the  proper  fruit  on  account  of  many  im- 
pediments, yet  God  remains  true  to  Himself,  and 
brings  all  to  pass  in  His  own  good  time.  Of  that 
I  had  a  beautiful  instance  in  this  soul.  I  could 
see  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  surely  united  with  the 
Word.  It  affords  sincere  joy  to  meet  with  a  soul 
that  is  alive  to  the  old  EvangeUcal  Lutheran  doc- 
trines." After  receiving  the  Lord's  Supper  at  the 
hands  of  Muhlenberg,  the  aged  hero  was  conveyed 
in  a  wagon  to  his  son's  home,  where  he  not  long 
after  fell  asleep  in  Jesus. 

Another  important  family  event  was  the  birth  of 
the  first  child,  on  October  1st,  1746.  He  was  bap- 
tized John  Peter  Gabriel,  and  became  famous  as 
the  fighting  parson  of  the  American  Revolution. 

A  fortnight  later  Muhlenberg  was* visited  by 
Rev.  Michael  Schlatter,  who  occupied  the  same  re- 
lation to  the  work  of  the  German  Reformed  Church 
in  Pennsylvania  as  Muhlenberg  to  the  Lutheran. 
He  had  just  arrived  in  Philadelphia,  and  hastened 
on  to  Providence  to  reach  an  agreement  with 
Muhlenberg  about  the  frequent  intermarriages  be- 
tween Lutherans  and  Reformed.  He  himself  later 
married  the  daughter  of  the  Philadelphia  Lutheran 
layman,  Henry  Schleydorn.  Muhlenberg  was  pleas- 
antly impressed  with  Schlatter's  open-hearted 
and  straightforward  ways.  They  became  hfe-long 
friends.  Schlatter  was  Muhlenberg's  inferior  in 
judgment,  and  passed  through  many  trials.  Dr. 
Mann  says  that  he  was  ''more  an  agitator  than  an 
organizer,"  whereas  Muhlenberg's  claim  to  being 
the  founder  of  our  Church  is  his  getting  the  numer- 
ous small  assemblies  of  worshipers  thoroughly  or- 
ganized into  congregations,  furnished  with  proper 


NURTURING    THE    TENDER    VINES.  99 

constitutions,  and  then  united  into  a  Synod. 
Schlatter  succeeded  in  getting  a  Reformed  Synod 
organized  in  1747. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  Muhlenberg's  fre- 
quent Journeys  were  without  hardship  and  acci- 
dent. In  the  winter  of  1745-6  he  was  thrown 
violently  from  his  horse  upon  the  ice,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1746,  when  he  was  making  a  visit  to  a  sick 
member  at  night,  his  horse  fell  upon  him,  so  that 
it  was  only  of  the  Lord's  mercy  that  he  escaped 
with  no  bones  broken.  He  suffered  all  the  hard- 
ships of  a  country  pastor  in  a  new  country. 

The  following  August  he  came  home  from  a 
thirty-mile  drive  and  three  or  four  days'  exposure 
to  cold  rains.  He  at  once  became  feverish  and  de- 
lirious, had  two  weeks  of  great  pain,  and  suffered  a 
relapse.  He  was  absent  from  his  pulpit  for  four 
Sundays.  He  nearly  lost  his  life  in  February  and 
March,  1747.  The  deep  snow  had  completely  ob- 
literated the  road  to  Saucon.  He  was  five  hours 
in  making  ten  miles.  He  fell  into  sloughs,  had  to 
break  a  way  for  his  horse,  and,  tired  out  and 
in  Sb  profuse  perspiration,  with  the  sharp  wind 
blowing,  still  did  not  dare  to  rest  a  moment.  He 
felt  repaid  when  he  met  his  people.  They,  too, 
had  floundered  through  the  snow  to  attend  the  ap- 
pointed service.  He  had  in  mind,  also,  what  the 
sects  would  say  if  he  failed  to  keep  his  appoint- 
ment :  ' '  Look  at  your  parsons  ;  they  promise 
much,  and  perform  little." 

^  In  March,  as  he  was  riding  along  a  precipice, 
his  horse  fell  on  the  ice.  Fortunately  he  threw 
his  rider  away  from  the  precipice,  and  Muhlenberg 
saved  himself  by  grasping  the  bushes.  "  In  how 
many  dangers  has  not  the  gracious  God  spread  His 
arms  over  me  ?  "  is  his  comment. 

Frankly,  but  uncomplainingly,  he  wrote  to  the 


100  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

Fathers  concerning  his  widely  extended  parish, 
covering  thirty  miles  :  ' '  What  distresses  me  most 
is  this,  that  I  get  so  little  time,  strength,  and  op- 
portunity for  the  personal  care  of  souls.  In  the 
winter  one  is  often  glad  to  be  able  to  attend  to  the 
routine  public  duties.  The  roads  and  streams, 
mud,  snow,  and  storm,  are  often  so  bad  that  one 
would  not  drive  a  dog  out  into  them  ;  yet  the 
preacher  must  make  his  rounds. 

' '  In  the  summer  the  whole  family  are  at  work, 
so  that  one  finds  scarcely  anybody  at  home  ex- 
cept the  3'oung  children  locked  in  the  house.  I 
find  hardly  any  other  time  or  chance  except  on 
Sunday,  when  I  catechise  the  older  folks  on  the 
sermon,  and  the  younger  folks  after  the  sermon. 

'' Saturdays  and  Sundays  I  am  constantly  at 
work  or  on  the  road.  During  the  week  I  rarely 
get  three  days  in  succession  at  home.  On  week- 
days there  is  a  baptism  to-day,  to-morrow  a  sick 
man  to  visit,  next  day  a  funeral,  etc. ,  and  each 
act  consumes  nearly  a  full  day.  When  is  one  to 
get  time  to  study  ?  If  there  is  a  day  left  over,  one 
gladly  visits  such  souls  as  are  under  the  strivings 
of  the  Spirit.  Where,  then,  is  one  to  find  time 
for  the  necessary  letters  to  the  esteemed  Fathers 
and  patrons  in  Europe  ? ' '  His  European  corre- 
spondents, it  will  be  remembered,  included,  be- 
sides Francke  and  Ziegenhagen,  some  of  the  nobil- 
ity, like  the  Count  Reuss  and  Frau  von  I\Iuench- 
hausen,  his  mother  and  brothers,  Dr.  Oporin,  Dr. 
Fresenius,  court  preacher  at  Darmstadt,  Dr.  Sam- 
uel Urlsperger,  of  Augsburg,  the  friend  of  the 
Salzburgers,  and  many  others.  Muhlenberg  was 
the  man  through  whose  clear  eyes  they  desired  to 
\dew  the  American  field. 

No  man  could  be  pastor  and  overseer  on  this 
extensive  scale  and  not  feel  the  effects  of  it  in  later 


NURTURING    THE    TENDER   VINES.  101 

years.  By  the  grace  of  God  his  iron  constitution 
carried  him  through  these  pioneer  years  until 
helpers  multiplied  and  the  Church  was  indeed 
''planted." 

"  For  all  Thy  saints,  O  Lord, 
Who  strove  in  Thee  to  Hve, 
Who  followed  Thee,  obeyed,  adored, 
Our  grateful  hymn  receive. 

'*  They  all,  in  life  or  death, 

With  Thee,  their  Lord,  in  view. 
Learned  from  Thy  Holy  Spirit's  breath 
To  suffer  and  to  do." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CLUSTERS    OF    RIPE    GRAPES. 

Personal  Narratives — The  Converted  Gambler — The  A^ed 
Philadelphia  Widow — Two  Pious  Youths — The  Dying 
Choir  Leader — ''Able  to  Give  a  Reason" — The 
Language  Question — Preaching  to  Outsiders — White 
Slaves.     (1742-1747.) 

And  they  came  unto  the  brook  of  Eschol,  and  cut  down  from  thence 
a  branch  with  one  cluster  of  grapes,  and  they  bare  it  between  two  upon 
a  staff:  and  they  brought  of  the  pomegranates,  and  of  the  figs. — Num. 
xiii.  23. 

Ye  know  the  house  of  Stephanas,  that  it  is  the  firstfruits  of  Achaia.— 
1  Cor.  xvi.  15. 

Muhlenberg's  labor  was  not  in  vain  in  the 
Lord.  The  slender  vines  began  to  make  new 
wood,  the  young  cuttings  took  root,  and  the  deso- 
lated vineyard  yielded  its  first  rich  clusters  of  ripe 
grapes.  Some  of  the  pious  souls  constituted  the 
'  ^  remnant ' '  that  had  overlived  the  dreadful  times 
when  "the  foxes,  the  little  foxes,  spoiled  the 
vines."  Some  of  them  were  the  first  fruits  of 
Muhlenberg' s  planting. 

Besides  the  general  mention  of  the  great  in- 
gatherings at  confirmation  and  communion  sea- 
sons, the  "Halle  Reports"  contain  scores,  yea, 
hundreds  of  ' '  Personal  Narratives ' '  of  both  con- 
verted and  unconverted  persons  whose  cases  fell 
under  Muhlenberg's  pastoral  care. 

In  his  early  Philadelphia  ministry  he  met  a 

man,  who,  impoverished  by  drink  and  gambling, 

was  compelled  to  emigrate.     He  was  well  versed 

in  tlie  Bible  and  the  Catechism,  and  so  strictly 

(102) 


CLUSTERS   OF    RIPE    GRAPES.  103 

"orthodox"  that  he  swore  at  the  Moravians  and 
found  fault  with  Muhlenberg  because  his  sermons 
did  not  bristle  with  attacks  on  them.  At  last  a 
lingering  illness  seized  him.  On  his  sick-bed  he 
remembered  his  sins  and  Hstened  gladly  as  his 
pastor  ' '  pointed  him  to  Jesus  Christ,  who  bore  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world,  and  consequently  his  sins 
also."  He  comforted  himself  with  the  words, 
'  *  But  where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  much  more 
abound"  (Rom.  v.  20).  He  was  humbly  thank- 
ful to  the  Fathers  and  benefactors  in  Europe,  that 
they,  next  to  God,  had  sent  help.  With  songs  of 
praise  on  his  lips  he  departed,  ''a  poor  sinner 
plucked  as  a  brand  from  the  burning  :  God's  holy 
name  be  praised." 

In  1744,  at  New  Hanover,  lived  the  widow  of  a 
former  deacon.  The  father  had  been  too  indul- 
gent, and  the  sons  became  scoffers.  The  mother 
and  daughters  were  regular  in  attendance  on  the 
Word  of  God.  With  tears,  the  mother  sought  the 
consolations  of  her  pastor.  God  soon  delivered 
her  from  her  sorrows,  after  she  had  been  refreshed 
by  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  had  prayed  a  thousand 
blessings  on  the  Fathers  at  Halle  for  their  interest 
on  behalf  of  neglected  souls  in  America. 

' '  An  aged  widow  in  Philadelphia  expressed  her 
great  joy  that  she  was  able  to  hear  again  the  Gos- 
pel in  her  native  tongue.  Although  she  had  a 
stroke  of  apoplexy  and  trembled  in  her  limbs,  she 
very  seldom  missed  worship.  She  employed  a 
strong  man  to  carry  her  to  the  church  and  take  her 
home  again.  She  told  me  that  she  had  come  to 
this  country  together  with  her  husband  many 
years  ago.  Arriving  here  they  did  not  find  any 
German  Lutheran  church,  and  therefore  felt  like 
in  exile.  Her  husband  learned  Swedish  in  order 
to  attend  the  Swedish  church.     She  herself  could 


104  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

not  learn  that  language,  and  had  to  forego  the  op- 
portunity of  hearing  the  preaching  of  the  Word. 
She  remembered  the  prayers,  scripture-texts,  and 
hymns  she  had  learned  in  her  early  youth,  and 
found  great  comfort  in  repeating  them.  She  said, 
'  How  often  I  went  back  in  my  thoughts  to  Ger- 
many, where  they  have  spiritual  food  in  abun- 
dance, but  are  not  grateful  for  it.'  The  short 
prayer,  'Christ's  Blood  and  His  Righteousness,' 
was  so  dear  to  her  that  she  would  not  sell  it  for  all 
the  world' s  riches.  It  was  a  precious  comfort  to  her 
for  many  years.  She  was  a  good  soul,  and  I  could 
not  refuse  to  take  her  mite  for  the  building-fund, 
when  she  said,  '  Our  venerable  fathers  and  pa- 
trons in  Europe  show  so  much  charity  to  us  poor 
and  forsaken  people  that  I  cannot  do  otherwise 
but  contribute  my  mite  too  ;  the  Lord  will  not 
despise  it.'  God  took  her  hom.e  at  last  to  her 
eternal  rest." 

One  of  the  parish  school  children,  a  lad  of  ten, 
was  suddenly  taken  ill.  He  called  for  his  New 
Testament.  Turning  to  John  iii.  16,  he  repeated 
it  several  times.  *'  Dear  mother,"  he  said,  ''with 
this  text  I  will  go  to  heaven." 

Another  lad,  six  years  old,  was  ill.  Before  dy- 
ing, he  called  his  father  to  his  bedside,  and  said, 
"M}^  dear  father,  I  am  going  from  this  wicked  world 
to  heaven,  where  my  dear  Redeemer,  Jesus  Christ, 
and  all  the  holy  angels  dwell.  There  I  will  eter- 
nally praise  my  God  who  has  created,  redeemed, 
and  sanctified  me.  Continue  to  be  pious,  dear 
father,  to  pray  earnestly,  and  to  love  the  Lord 
Jesus  and  His  Word.  Then  He  will  soon  take 
you  too  to  that  beautiful  place. ' '  He  sank  to  rest 
while  his  father  was  singing  one  of  his  favorite 
hymns. 

A  young  man  of  thirty,  leader  of  the  choir  at 


CLUSTERS    OF    RIPE    GRAPES.  105 

New  Hanover,  was  scoffed  at  by  other  young 
men  on  account  of  his  piety.  He  hired  him- 
self to  a  Quaker  in  order  to  pay  off  some  debts 
of  himself  and  father.  While  driving  a  team  he 
had  a  fatal  fall,  and  his  pastor  was  sent  for  to  pray 
with  him.  He  saw  that  the  man  must,  in  a  few 
minutes,  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  God 
to  receive  as  he  had  done  in  the  body,  and  asked 
him  who  would  then  intercede  for  him.  He  re- 
plied, '■ '  I  have  long  since  united  myself  by  faith 
with  my  Intercessor,  in  w^eakness  have  loved  Him, 
and  know  none  other,  in  heaven  or  upon  earth, 
who  has  mediated  for  me,  and  can  do  so,  save 
Jesus  Christ,  my  Lord."  He  asked  for  the  Lord's 
Supper,  and  partook  of  it ;  and,  in  the  midst  of 
the  singing  of  the  hymn,  "Jesus,  Thy  Deep 
Wounds,"  fell  asleep. 

In  1747  a  woman  in  New  Hanover  was  over- 
taken with  epilepsy.  When  Muhlenberg  arrived 
she  had  regained  her  senses.  His  questions  and 
her  answers  ran  somewhat  as  follows,  and  this 
may,  perhaps,  be  taken  as  a  sample  of  his  cate- 
chisation  of  the  older  members  after  sermon  at 
church  :  ' '  How  is  it  with  your  heart  and  con- 
science before  God,  should  He  now  call  you  into 
eternity  ?  "  "I  glory  alone  in  the  bloody  wounds 
which  Jesus  received  in  His  hands  and  feet. 
Therein  will  I  wrap  myself. "  "  What  is  it  to  in- 
wTap  one's  self  in  the  wounds  of  Jesus  ?  "  "  If  I 
confess  and  bewail  all  my  sins  before  God,  He  for- 
gives them  for  the  sake  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
casts  them  all  into  the  depths  of  the  sea,  and  looks 
upon  me  in  His  Son  as  if  I  had  never  sinned,  and 
gives  me  strength  to  walk  in  my  Saviour's  foot- 
steps and  to  follow  the  guidance  of  His  Spirit." 
' '  Have  you  indeed  experienced  all  this  ?  "  "  What 
I  have  not  3^et  experienced,  the  Lord  will  permit 


106  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

me  yet  to  experience  through  grace. "  ' '  You 
have  omitted  one  thing.  Tell  me,  wherewith  do 
we  inwrap  ourselves?"  "Faith  is  the  hand 
wherewith  we  lay  hold  and  inwrap  ourselves." 
''Who  worketh  faith?"  ''The  Holy  Ghost 
worketh  faith  in  a  penitent  heart. "  "I  presented 
her  case, ' '  continues  Muhlenberg,  ' '  in  prayer  to 
God,  who  soon  granted  her  bodily  recovery,  and 
still  carries  forward  the  work  of  grace  in  her  soul." 

A  young  man  of '  between  twenty  and  thirty 
years  of  age  often  visited  his  pastor  for  private  re- 
ligious conversation  and  prayer.  He  ascribed  his 
spiritual  awakening  to  seek  his  soul's  salvation  in 
Christ  to  ]\Iuhlenberg' s  custom  of  now  and  then 
reading  an  appropriate  hymn  at  the  close  of  the 
sermon  and  commenting  on  it.  The  people  were 
astonished  at  the  powerful  Gospel  truths  contained 
in  hymns  that  they  had  sung,  without  under- 
standing or  feeling,  a  hundred  times. 

In  Providence  he  was  called  to  visit  a  sick  boy 
of  twelve  years  of  age  in  whom  the  grace  of  Bap- 
tism still  continued.  His  mind  was  a  treasure- 
house  of  choice  texts  and  hymns.  He  knew  his 
Catechism  by  heart,  and  knew  how  to  apply  its 
divine  truths.  One  day  his  mother  showed  him 
how  thin  the  winter  wheat  stood  in  the  field. 
"  Dear  mother,"  he  said,  "  do  not  grieve.  '  Be- 
hold the  fowls  of  the  air  ;  they  sow  not,  neither  do 
they  reap.'  Reflect,  too,  how  much  bread  the 
Lord  Jesus  had  when  He  fed  the  four  and  the  five 
thousand." 

Muhlenberg  would  fain  have  taken  this  youth 
under  his  personal  care  in  order  to  make  a  teacher 
or  a  minister  of  him,  but  the  father  objected.  He 
said  that  in  America  preachers  are  so  despised  by 
the  sects  and  the  newspapers,  must  endure  so 
much  hardship,  and  have  no  certain  support,  that 


CLUSTERS    OF    RIPE   GRAPES.  107 

he  would  rather  have  the  boy  learn  a  trade  with 
which  to  serve  God  and  his  neighbor. 

Muhlenberg  gives  a  minute  description  of  some 
of  the  catechumens  of  this  year.  One  was  the 
Huguenot  wife  of  a  Lutheran  husband,  brought,  by 
her  marriage,  under  the  influence  of  the  Word. 
Another  was  a  poor  lad  who  lived  across  the 
Schuylkill  among  Quakers,  Anabaptists,  and  the 
like,  where  there  were  no  schools,  or  at  least 
where  the  children  learned  only  ' '  the  three  R'  s, " 
but  nothing  of  God's  Word. 

A  third  was  a  girl  of  sixteen,  whose  instruction 
had  to  be  given  in  English,  whereas  another  was  a 
young  man  of  twenty-five,  who  came  all  the  way 
from  New  Jersey  to  be  instructed,  and  with  whom 
Muhlenberg  had  to  use  Dutch,  thus  burdening 
himself  with  three  languages,  and  consuming 
much  time. 

Muhlenberg  had  no  foolish  prejudices  on  the 
language  question.  The  only  question  with  him 
was  how  many  languages  he  could  employ.  At 
New  Hanover,  it  will  be  remembered,  he  had  his 
httle  flock  of  English  Lutherans.  So,  too,  at  a 
place  called  MuUaton  (Manatawny),  fourteen 
miles  west  of  Providence,  where  there  was  an 
abandoned  Swedish  Lutheran  Church  in  a  com- 
munity composed  of  Swedes,  English,  Irish,  and 
Germans,  Muhlenberg  was  frequently  called  to  at- 
tend funerals,  and  at  last  consented  to  make  it  a 
regular  preaching-point.  He  visited  it  once  a 
month  on  Sunday,  and  once  a  month  during  the 
week.  After  morning  service  at  New  Hanover  was 
ended,  at  12  or  1  o'clock,  he  would  mount  his 
horse  and  gallop  away  to  Mullaton  to  hold  service 
at  2  or  3  o'clock.  First  he  would  preach  an  Eng- 
lish sermon,  and  then  deliver  a  German  exhorta- 
tion  for   the   benefit  of   the  poor  German    ' '  ser- 


108  HENEY  MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

vants  "  and  others  of  the  Lutheran  and  the  Re- 
formed faith  hereabouts.  As  this  was  rather  a 
crude  community,  he  at  first  chose  the  clearest 
texts  in  the  New  Testament,  and  preached  to  them 
repentance  and  faith.  In  later  sermons  he  treated 
of  the  instances  of  Holy  Baptism  given  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles.  On  week-days  he  took  oc- 
casion to  catechise  old  and  young,  and  deplored 
their  lack  of  clearness  and  knowledge  in  divine 
things.  ' '  Still  they  are  attentive  and  in  awe  by 
reason  of  the  many  sudden  deaths  among  them." 
These  ' '  servants ' '  were  poor  people,  decoyed 
from  their  homes  in  Europe  by  the  emigration 
agents,  called  ' '  the  Newlanders. ' '  These  per- 
sons, being  unable  to  pay  for  their  passage,  were 
sold  from  the  ship  into  a  sort  of  "  white  slavery," 
lasting  from  three  to  six  years,  until  they  could 
pay  back  the  money  advanced  by  their  masters  to 
the  ship  captains.  Hence  they  were  called  ''Re- 
demptioners. "  Many  of  the  most  prominent 
Pennsylvania  families,  English  and  Irish,  as  well 
as  German,  are  descended  from  these  Redemption- 
ers.  Parents  and  children  were  often  sej^arated. 
This  custom  began  in  1740,  and  continued  nearly 
a  century.  Muhlenberg  opposed  it,  and  his  or- 
ganist at  Providence,  honest  Gottlieb  Mittelberger, 
exposed  it  in  a  book  printed  at  Stuttgart  in  1756. 
This  sad  condition  of  things  added  not  a  little  to 
Muhlenberg's  pastoral  burdens  and  sorrows. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

EXPLORING   A   NEGLECTED    CORNER. 

Itinerary  of  a  Journey  to  Frederick,  Md. — Moravian 
Tactics — Meets  Eastern  Lutherans  in  Western  Churches 
— Pledges  Congregations  to  the  SymboHcal  Books — Carl 
Rudolph — An  English  Lutheran  Pastor  AVanted — Great 
Crowds  at  York  —  Benefits  of  this  Journey  —  Nick- 
named ''  Gachswungarorachs  " — Brunnholtz  and  Hart- 
wig  Await  His  Home-coming.     (1747.) 

For  God  is  my  witnes'',  whom  I  serve  with  my  spirit  in  the  gospel  of 
his  Son.  that  without  ceasing  I  make  mention  of  you  always  in  my 
prayers ; 

Fur  I  long  to  see  you,  that  I  may  impart  unto  you  some  spiritual 
gift,  to  the  end  ye  may  be  established. — Rom.  i.  9,  11. 

If  there  come  any  unto  you,  and  bring  not  this  doctrine,  receive  him 
not  into  your  house,  neither  bid  him  God  speed. — 2  John  10. 

After  Whitsuntide,  1747,  Muhlenberg  undertook 
an  extended  tour  of  inspection  as  far  southwest  as 
Frederick,  Md.,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  miles.  His  itinerary,  as  we  make  it  up,  was 
as  follows  : 

June  10th.     Started,  with  Teacher  Loeser. 

June  12th.  At  Tulpehocken.  Preached  and 
administered  Holy  Communion  here  and  at  North- 
kill  Church  for  Catechist  Kurtz. 

June  19th  to  21st.  At  Lancaster.  Preached  on 
Sunday  morning  in  Trinity,  held  catechisation, 
baptized  some  children,  and  induced  the  member:^ 
to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the  church  council.  The  same 
day  pressed  on  to  York,  twenty-two  miles,  cross- 
ing the  broad  Susquehanna  in  a  boat  during  a 
violent  storm.  Was  welcomed  at  York  at  mid- 
night by  the  people. 

(109) 


110  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

June  22d.  York.  In  preaching  against  the 
Nyberg  faction,  was  treated  by  the  Moravians  as 
though  he  were  sinning  against  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Distressed  to  find  so  many  Lutherans  more  ortho- 
dox than  pious.  Preached  in  such  a  way  that  the 
true  Christians  of  both  parties  rejoiced.  Some 
took  offense  at  his  use  of  the  words  "law,"  "re- 
pentance, "  "  prayer, ' '  etc. ,  but  he  maintained  that 
his  explanations  were  in  accordance  with  Scripture 
and  the  Symbolical  Books. 

June  22d.  Journeyed  twenty-one  miles  south- 
west to  the  Conewago  (Hanover)  congregation  (in 
York  County).  Tried  to  reconcile  opposing  par- 
ties. Promised  that,  when  one  of  "the  United 
Ministers"  settled  at  York,  he  should  serve  Cone- 
wago also.  Preached  in  a  barn.  Declined  to  ad- 
minister the  Lord's  Supper.  Admonished  them 
first  to  repent  sincerely.  Met  some  "Eastern" 
Lutherans,  former  parishioners  in  Philadelphia, 
who  were  "moved  to  tears"  and  deeply  deplored 
their  shepherdless  condition  since  coming  West. 

June  23d.  After  twelve  hours'  hard  riding  in  a 
drenching  rain,  arrived  at  Monocacy,  Md.,  thirty- 
six  miles  distant.  Preached  in  a  log  church  on 
the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son.  Succeeded  in 
reconciling  the  jarring  factions,  and  administered 
the  Lord's  Supper. 

In  order  that  the  English  magistrate  might 
clearly  understand  the  Lutheran  position,  wrote, 
in  English,  in  the  Church  Record,  a  statement 
that  the  German  Lutherans  profess  their  faith  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures  and  the  Unaltered  Augsburg 
Confession  and  the  other  Symbolical  Books  ;  and 
that  they  will  tolerate  no  gross  and  willful  sinners 
in  their  Church.  Required  all  to  sign  this,  and 
thus  weeded  out  the  troublesome  element. 

June  25th.     Ten  miles  further  to  Frederick,  a 


EXPLORING   A    NEGLECTED    CORNER.  Ill 

town  just  laid  out.  Had  the  Monocacy  articles 
signed  here  also.  Completed  the  organization  of 
the  church  by  the  election  of  deacons  and  elders. 
Preached  to  a  large  assemblage  of  English  and 
German  people.  Baptized,  administered  com- 
munion, and  married  two  couples.  Heard  the 
universal  cry,  ^'  Send  us  a  good  minister." 

June  26th.  On  the  return  trip  was  entertained 
by  an  English  gentleman  who  judged  the  ''Ger- 
man Lutherans ' '  by  what  he  knew  of  that  tramp 
preacher,  Carl  Rudolph.  He  thought  that  the 
Moravians  were  the  true  ''Friends  of  Jesus." 
Pleased  with  Muhlenberg's  explanations,  and  dis- 
gusted with  his  own  drunken  rector,  he  begged 
Muhlenberg  to  send  a  sound  evangelical  preacher. 

(Oh,  the  "open  doors"  for  our  Church  in  that 
day,  and  the  utter  lack  of  men  who,  like  Muhlen- 
berg, could  and  would  use  the  two  languages. ) 

June  27th.  York.  A  busy  day.  Private  in- 
terviews with  officers  and  individuals  until  4  p.  m. 
Then  the  preparatory  service,  wdth  sermon  on 
Matt.  xi.  28.  After  this  the  examination  of  fif- 
teen catechumens,  and  more  religious  conversation 
until  bedtime. 

Sunday,  June  28th.  York.  Church  able  to 
accommodate  but  half  the  crowd.  Many  come 
ten  to  twenty-five  miles.  Sermon  on  the  Great 
Marriage  Feast  (Matt.  xxii.  2),  confirmation,  com- 
munion administered  to  two  hundred  guests. 

The  return  trip  by  way  of  Lancaster  and  Tul- 
pehocken  was  of  the  same  sort.  Everywhere  the 
Word  was  preached  and  the  Sacraments  were  ad- 
ministered ;  laxity  was  rebuked,  treachery  ex- 
posed, difficulties  adjusted,  and  vital  piety  encour- 
aged. To  the  distracted  churches  it  was  Ufe  from  the 
dead  ;  to  Muhlenberg,  an  assurance  that  the  Lord 
was  on  his  side,  and  a  stimulus  to  the  larger  plans 


112  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

of  1748.  It  made  him  personally  and  accurately 
acquainted  with  the  state  of  affairs  on  the  frontier 
of  civilization  beyond  the  Susquehanna,  and  car- 
ried the  weight  of  his  authority  into  a  neglected 
corner.  It  gave  an  effectual  quietus  to  the  demor- 
alizing w^ork  begun  by  Zinzendorf  and  vigorously 
carried  on  by  Nyberg.  It  brought  the  Western 
frontier  churches  into  vital  relations  with  the  older 
Eastern  parishes  and  with  the  Mother-Church  of 
Europe.  It  saved  them  from  clerical  vagabond- 
age, and  established  Muhlenberg's  position  as  the 
spiritual  counselor  of  all  Pennsylvania  and  Mary- 
land Lutheranism.  His  motto  might  have  been 
that  of  King  Edward  VIL,  "  Ich  dien"  (''I 
serve"),  but  that  he  had  a  better  one,  ^'Ecclesia 
plantanda." 

Of  his  physical  disabilities  and  of  his  general 
review  of  the  year  note  has  been  taken  in  a  pre- 
ceding chapter.  Here  v/e  record  a  few  interesting 
memoranda  : 

One  was  his  meeting  with  an  Indian  chief  at 
Weiser's.  Muhlenberg  had  considerable  inter- 
course with  the  aborigines.  A  chief  whom  he 
once  entertained  at  his  home  in  Providence  gave 
him  the  name  ' '  Gachswungarorachs, "  "  The- 
teacher-whose-words-should-go-through-the-hard- 
hearts-of-men-like-a-saw-through-a-gnarled-tree, ' ' 
a  pretty  shrewd  estimate  of  the  most  soul-stirring 
American  Lutheran  preacher  of  his  day. 

Important  visitors  awaited  his  home-coming  in 
July.  Brunnholtz  was  there  sick  with  the  measles. 
Muhlenberg's  Halle  medicines  soon  set  him  right. 

The  other  visitor  was  Rev.  J.  C.  Hartwig,  the 
eccentric  bachelor  clergyman  of  New  York,  whose 
badly  managed  legacy  formed  the  basis  of  the 
Hartwig  Seminary.     He  was   out   of  sympathy 


EXPLORING    A   NEGLECTED   CORNER.  113 

with  Berkenmeyer,  the  stahvart  Lutheran  leader 
of  his  province,  and  yet  he  proved  too  unstable  to 
be  of  much  service  to  Muhlenberg. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

BUILDING    THE    HEDGES. 

The  Eventful  Year  1748— Eva  (Mrs.  Schultze)  Born— 
Handschuh  Arrives — Is  Stationed  at  Lancaster — AVeiser 
Receives  the  Lord's  Supper — Mrs.  IMiihlenberg  at 
Death's  Door — The  Unfenced  Vineyard — A  Uniform 
Liturgy — Visit  to  Blue  Mountains — Reassignment  of 
Catecnists — Dedication  of  St.  Michael's — Ordination  of 
Kurtz — Organization  of  Synod — The  Day  of  Small 
Things — A  Year's  Parish  Work — Weariness.    (1748.) 

Now  will  I  sing  to  my  well-beloved  a  song  of  my  beloved  touching 
his  vineyard  :  my  well-boloved  hath  a  vineyard  in  a  very  fruitful  bill: 

And  he  fenced  it,  and  gathered  out  the  stones  thereof,  and  planted  it 
with  the  choicest  vine,  and  built  a  tower  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  also 
made  a  winepress  therein.— Is.  v.  1,  2. 

Fear  not,  little  flock,  for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you 
the  kingdom.— Luke  xii.  32. 

The  year  of  years  in  Muhlenberg's  life  was 
1748.  It  opened  with  the  advent  of  a  daughter, 
on  January  29th,  baptized  Eva  Elizabeth.  She  was 
destined  to  become  the  wife  of  Rev.  Christopher 
E.  Schultze  and  mother  of  a  Pennsylvania  gov- 
ernor. 

In  January  and  February  there  was  much  pneu- 
monia in  this  part  of  the  country.  Muhlenberg 
took  a  pastoral  view  of  it  as  a  chastening  of  the 
Lord.  It  gave  him  much  opportunity  to  speak 
earnestly,  not  alone  with  his  own  Germans,  but 
also  with  the  English  and  Irish,  who  sought  out 
this  warm-hearted  Lutheran  pastor  to  guide  them 
into  the  way  of  life  and  salvation. 

He  was  even  summoned  to  the  house  of  a  rich 
Quaker,  where  he  met  a  .young  man  of  twenty- 
(114) 


BUILDING   THE   HEDGES.  115 

five,  who,  though  confirmed  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, had  been  led  to  know  Christ  by  a  woman 
of  the  New  Hanover  church.  He  prayed  with  the 
man,  instructed  him,  listened  to  his  confession, 
and  gave  him  the  communion.  The  man  recov- 
ered. "  May  God  preserve  this  poor  soul,''  writes 
Muhlenberg  to  the  Fathers,  ''amid  so  many  thou- 
sand allurements  in  the  world,  and  especially  in 
Pennsylvania." 

With  spring  came  "the  care  of  all  the 
churches."  Kurtz  was  transferred  to  Raritan, 
Schaum  was  placed  at  York,  and  Lancaster  re- 
ceived the  new  vinedresser.  Rev.  John  F.  Hand- 
schuh.  He  was  reared  in  Halle,  educated  at 
Leipsic,  and  powerfully  influenced  by  Bogatzsky, 
the  author  of  "  The  Golden  Treasury,"  an  edifying 
Lutheran  devotional  book.  He  was  nearly  of 
Muhlenberg's  age,  but  a  very  different  type  of 
man.  Arriving  at  Philadelphia,  April  5th,  1748, 
he  reached  Providence  on  Maundy-Thursday. 
Muhlenberg's  greeting,  "They  that  sow  in  tears 
shall  reap  in  joy,"  was  more  apt  than  he  dreamed, 
so  far,  at  least,  as  the  "tears  "  were  concerned. 

Handschuh's  preaching  gave  satisfaction.  With 
Brunnholtz  they  set  out  to  Lancaster — three 
"united  pastors" — to  propose  Handschuh  to  the 
Lancaster  people  as  their  pastor. 

While  at  Weiser's  they  conversed  with  him 
about  his  scruples  against  coming  to  the  Lord's 
Table.  This  was  a  remnant  of  the  sectarian  in- 
fluence under  which  he  had  been  living — the  mor- 
bid condition  of  a  soul  which  turned  its  eye  too 
much  inward  upon  itself  and  too  little  outward 
upon  its  crucified  Lord  and  Master.  Sudden  ill- 
ness overtook  Weiser  during  the  night,  and  was 
blessed  of  God  to  the  removal  of  his  scruples.  At 
his  request  the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered  to 


116  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

him,  and  Muhlenberg  went  on  his  way  with  a  joy- 
ful heart. 

The  Lancaster  matter  was  tactfully  handled. 
As  a  few  expressed  a  preference  for  Kurtz,  and 
some  doubting  Thomases  questioned  the  congre- 
gation's ability  to  raise  the  money  for  Hand- 
schuh'  s  traveling  expenses,  the  latter  was  placed  on 
trial  for  six  months  or  a  year  as  temporary  pastor. 

On  his  return  Muhlenberg  found  Mrs.  Muhlen- 
berg very  low  with  the  measles.  She  had  been 
given  the  wrong  medicine.  He  gave  her  what  he 
thought  best,  and  prayed  with  her.  ''  When  this 
was  done,  she  forced  herself  to  pray,  commended 
herself  as  a  poor  sinner  to  the  reconciled  Father  in 
Christ,  exhorted  me  to  be  faithful  in  my  office 
and  station,  to  fight  the  good  fight,  and  finish  my 
course,  and  also  to  take  care  of  the  children." 
Both  she  and  the  children  presently  recovered. 

We  now  come  to  the  steps  leading  up  to  the 
formation  of  the  Synod.  We  may  call  this  the 
' '  building  of  the  hedges. ' '  Muhlenberg  had  been 
cultivating  a  vineyard  which  stretched  from  Rari- 
tan,  N.  J.,  to  Frederick,  Md.  It  lay  exposed  on 
all  sides.  It  needed  fencing  in  with  synodical 
safeguards. 

The  first  step  was  taken  in  the  parsonage  at 
Providence,  April  28th,  when  a  uniform  liturgy 
was  agreed  upon.  The  United  Ministers  had  but 
one  in  hand,  that  used  in  the  Savoy  Church,  Lon- 
don, but  their  retentive  memories  recalled  the 
sound  Lutheran  Orders  of  Service  which  they  had 
used  as  students  and  pastors  in  Northern  Ger- 
many. The  Order  determined  on  is  essentially 
"The  Common  Service"  of  the  present  day.  It 
was  subsequently  adopted  by  the  Synod,  and  was 
used  in  manuscript  form  by  the  pastors,  until  a 


BUILDING   THE   HEDGES.  117 

modified  and  enfeebled  Order  was  substituted 
toward  the  close  of  the  Patriarch's  life. 

In  June  he  had  to  visit  the  scattered  Lutherans 
up  in  the  so-called  Blue  IMountains,  fifty  miles 
from  home — fully  equal  to  four  times  that  dis- 
tance in  these  days  of  steam  and  electricity.  He 
preached  on  the  parables  in  Luke  xv.,  the  Lost 
Coin  and  the  Lost  Sheep.  Some  of  these  people 
had  lived  down  at  Providence,  and  could  recall 
the  outlines  of  some  of  Muhlenberg's  sermons 
preached  five  years  before,  and  assured  him  that 
many  a  night  they  pondered  these  truths  upon 
their  beds.  He  remarks,  ^'  When  people  have  the 
Word  of  God  in  abundance  they  readily  weary  of 
it,  but  when  for  a  time  they  suffer  lack,  they 
become  so  hungry  that  they  would  eat  up  the 
preacher  together  with  the  Word." 

In  Jul}^  Muhlenberg  was  called  to  Raritan  to 
settle  difhculties  that  so  young  a  man  as  Kurtz 
could  not  cope  with.  After  studying  the  whole 
situation,  he  concluded  on  this  course  :  to  provide 
for  Kurtz  elsewhere,  to  allow  them,  for  a  year  at 
least,  to  have  Schaum,  for  whom  matters  were  not 
running  very  smoothly  at  York,  and  to  advise 
them  not  to  expect  aid  from  the  Fathers,  who  had 
all  they  could  do  in  bolstering  up  the  city  church, 
but  to  go  ahead  with  church  building,  depending 
on  themselves.  There  were,  besides,  many  petty 
personal  misunderstandings  to  be  healed  and 
many  ministerial  acts  to  be  performed. 

Two  weeks  slipped  away.  Brunnholtz  and  Hart- 
wig  were  at  Providence  awaiting  his  return.  Three 
important  propositions  were  discussed:  the  dedica- 
tion of  St.  ^lichael'  s,  Philadelphia,  the  ordination  of 
Kurtz  for  the  Tulpehocken  charge,  and  the  organi- 
zation of  a  Synod.     It  was  decided  that  the  two 


118  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

former  should  take  place,  D.  V.,  August  14th 
(August  23d,  N.  S.),  the  Tenth  Sunday  after 
Trinity,  followed  the  next  day  by  the  organization 
of  the  Synod.  A  historian  has  pronounced  this 
''the  most  important  event  in  the  history  of  the. 
American  Lutheran  Church  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century"  (Professor  Graebner). 

Muhlenberg  was  the  leading  spirit  by  virtue  of 
his  first  call  and  commission,  and  equally  by  vir- 
tue of  his  solid  merits  and  overshadowing  wisdom 
and  experience. 

From  the  reports  of  the  Sunday  services  we 
construct  the  following 

Order  of  Service. 

Procession  of  Pastors,  Delegates,  and  St. 
Michael's  Church  Council,  headed  by  the  Swedish 
Provost  Sandin,  from  Pastor  Brunnholtz's  house 
to  the  church. 

1.  Hymn,  "Come,  Holy  Spirit,  God  and  Lord," 
sung  antiphonally  and  in  harmony.  (The  Preach- 
ers stood  in  a  semicircle  around  the  altar ;  the 
Delegates  formed  a  semicircle  in  the  organ-loft. ) 

2.  Reading  of  an  English  Address  of  Congratu- 
lation, sent  by  Pastor  Tranberg,  of  Wilmington. 

3.  Dedicatory  Address  by  Rev.  Henry  Melchior 
Muhlenberg. 

4.  Dedicatory  Act.  ( ' '  The  whole  church  and 
its  parts — pulpit,  baptismal  font,  and  altar — were 
consecrated  to  the  use  of  the  only  saving  Word, 
and  the  Holy  Sacraments,  according  to  our  Sym- 
bolical Books.  The  Church  Council  had  to  prom- 
ise publicly  and  orally  that  they  would  strive, 
with  God's  assistance,  to  keep  the  church  accord- 
ing to  the  foregoing  consecration,  unto  their  chil- 
dren and  children's  children  for  the  aforenamed 
purpose. ' ' ) 


BUILDING    THE    HEDGES.  119 

5.  Hymn,  "Sing  Praise  to  God  Who  Reigns 
Above." 

6.  Five  German  Praj'ers,  one  in  Swedish. 

7.  Baptism. 

8.  Sermon  by  Rev.  J.  Frederick  Handschuh  on 
the  Gospel  for  the  Day  (Luke  xix.  41-48). 

9.  Holy  Communion. 

At  3  p.  M.  Rev.  J.  C.  Hartwig  preached  an  ordi- 
nation sermon  on  Ezek.  xxxiii.  8,  "His  Blood 
will  I  Require  at  Thy  Hand."  Muhlenberg  read 
the  liturgical  formula,  and  John  Nicholas  Kurtz 
was  ordained  by  the  laying  on  of  hands  of  all  the 
pastors,  the  delegates  standing  in  a  semicircle  be- 
hind him.  Kurtz  had  to  give  a  written  pledge  of 
adherence  to  the  Symbolical  Books. 

Next  day  the  United  Congregations  held  a  meet- 
ing. Present :  The  Swedish  Provost  Sandin,  Hart- 
wig  from  New  York,  Muhlenberg,  Brunnholtz, 
Handschuh,  and  Kurtz — six  pastors.  Mr.  Koch, 
as  trustee  of  the  Swedish  "Gloria  Dei"  Church. 
Delegates  from  St.  ISlichael's,  Philadelphia  (the 
whole  Church  Council);  St.  Michael's,  German- 
town  ;  Providence,  New  Hanover  ;  the  two  ' '  fil- 
ials"  at  Upper  Milford  and  "Saccum;"  Tulpe- 
hocken  and  its  ' '  filial, ' '  Nordkiel ;  Lancaster  and 
its  "  fihal,"  Earhngstown  (New  Holland).  Total, 
ten  congregations,  six  ministers,  and  twenty-four 
lay  delegates,  in  addition  to  the  Philadelphia 
Church  Council.  On  account  of  the  shortness  of 
the  notice,  York  could  not  be  represented. 

As  there  were  about  seventy  Lutheran  congrega- 
tions in  Pennsylvania  and  adjacent  colonies,  the 
above  looks  like  a  very  small  showing.  The 
Dutch  churches  in  New  York  were  out  of  the 
question.  The  Swedish  churches  were  spectators. 
rather  than  full-fledged  members  of  Synod.     The 


120  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

outlying  stations  covered  by  the  United  Ministers 
and  their  assistants  were  perhaps  as  many  in 
number  as  the  organized  German  churches  here 
represented.  But,  all  told,  this  was  a  feeble  be- 
ginning after  the  Lutheran  Church  had  been  on 
this  territory  for  half  a  century.  Yet  it  was  a 
beginning,  a  stride  forward  in  the  direction  of  ef- 
fective organization.  Hitherto  there  had  been 
^'churches;"  now  there  was  a  "Church" 
"planted" — a  vineyard  having  well-defined 
boundary  lines,  and  inclosed  by  a  strong  synod- 
ical  hedge  that  might  well  dismay  "the  boar  out 
of  the  wood,"  who  tried  to  break  through  it  in 
order  to  uproot  the  tender  vines.  Now  that  the 
"little one  has  become  a  thousand,"  and  that  this 
same  Synod,  after  all  its  surrender  of  territory  and 
membership  to  other  Synods,  still  looms  up  as  a 
body  of  over  three  hundred  and  fifty  ministers 
and  over  five  hundred  and  thirty  congregations, 
not  to  speak  of  its  immense  communicant  and 
baptized  membership,  it  ill  becomes  anyone  in 
America  to  speak  lightly  of  the  feeble  congrega- 
tional and  synodical  beginnings  in  the  Home  Mis- 
sion field  of  to-day.  An3^one  can  easily  wax  en- 
thusiastic while  tracing  the  great  achievements  of 
the  present  back  to  their  small  beginnings.  All 
honor  to  those  of  any  age  and  in  any  portion  of 
the  Field  who  are  faithful  to  the  struggling  vines 
and  tiny  hedges  in  "the  day  of  small  things," 
looking  forward  and  upward  with  the  eye  of  faith. 

Order  of  Synodical  Business. 

1.  Hymn  and  prayer. 

2.  Muhlenberg  occupied  the  chair  by  virtue  of 
his  call.  Handschuh  was  appointed  Secretary. 
(There  was  no  formal  constitution.    Like  the  Brit- 


BUILDING   THE   HEDGES.  121 

ish  Constitution,   it  was  at  first   unwritten,  and 
grew  into  shape  gradually.) 

3.  Opening  Address  by  Muhlenberg  :  The  fail- 
ure of  the  attempt  in  1744  ;  the  importance  of  a 
closer  union  between  the  congregations — a  twisted 
cord  of  many  strands  will  not  easily  break  ;  the 
duty  of  providing  for  the  rising  generation  ;  the 
connection  between  our  churches  and  the  Fathers 
in  Europe. 

4.  General  Business.  The  lay  delegates  report 
concerning  the  efficiency  of  the  Pastors.  The 
condition  of  the  Parochial  Schools  is  noted.  The 
new  Liturgy  is  examined  and  adopted  :  it  contains 
Orders  for  Public  Service,  Baptism,  Proclaiming 
the  Banns,  Confession,  and  Holy  Communion. 
The  only  objection  heard  is  to  the  length  of  the 
services,  especially  in  extremely  cold  weather. 

Attention  is  paid  to  the  criticisms  of  certain 
preachers  who  had  not  been  invited.  ' '  Mr.  Muh- 
lenberg shows  that  we  can  have  no  fellowship  with 
them,  for  :  1.  Without  any  reason,  they  decry  us 
as  Pietists.  2.  They  have  not  been  sent  hither, 
and  have  neither  an  internal  nor  an  external 
^calL'  3.  They  are  not  willing  to  observe  the 
same  Church  Order,  or  Liturgy,  as  we  do  :  each 
wants  to  conform  to  the  ceremonies  of  his  home. 
4.  Six  years'  experience  has  taught  Mr.  Muhlen- 
berg that  they  care  for  nothing  but  bread.  5. 
They  are  under  no  Consistorium  [in  Europe],  and 
give  no  account  of  their  official  doings  "  (Minutes). 

5.  Hartwig  and  Sandin,  who  were  merely  ad- 
visory members,  made  congratulatory  addresses, 
but  did  not  sign  the  Minutes. 

6.  After  a  hymn,  adjourned,  to  meet  at  Lancas- 
ter in  1749. 

Muhlenberg,  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven  years, 


122  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

after  just  six  years'  faithful  labor,  found  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  band  of  co-laborers,  all  in  the  prime 
of  life,  and  harmoniously  laboring  in  the  American 
vineyard.  This  was  but  another  illustration  of  his 
favorite  text :  ''The  Lord  doeth  all  things  well." 
That,  amid  these  manifold  outside  duties,  he  did 
not  neglect  his  own  parish  is  seen  in  this  entr)^  in 
his  diary  :  "In  this  year  of  my  Pennsylvania  pil- 
grimage I  have  baptized  a  hundred  and  thirteen 
children,  confirmed  thirt3'-eight  young  people, 
and  buried  twenty-nine  persons."  He  was  so 
exhausted  by  being  so  much  in  the  saddle,  and  so 
anxious  to  get  quiet  time  for  study  and  to  be  home 
with  his  family,  that  he  actually  begged  the 
Fathers  to  send  a  successor,  and  allow  him  to  re- 
turn to  Germany.  Who  will  censure  him?  He 
was  but  flesh  and  blood.  It  was,  however,  only 
a  momentary  weakness  and  shows  how  heavy  was 
the  cross  that  he  bore  for  Christ  and  His  Church. 

**  O  what,  if  we  are  Christ's, 
Is  earthly  shame  or  loss  ? 
Bright  shall  the  crown  of  glory  be 
When  we  have  borne  the  Cross. 

"  Keen  was  the  trial  once, 
Bitter  the  cup  of  woe, 
When  martyred  saints,  iDaptized  in  blood, 
Christ's  sufferings  shared  below. 

*  Bright  is  their  glory  now, 
Boundless  their  joy  above, 
Where  on  the  bosom  of  their  God 
They  rest  in  perfect  love." 


III.-"  THE    CARE    OF    ALL    THE 
CHURCHES."    1748-1776. 

CHAPTER  I. 

FIRST    PRESIDENT    OF   THE     FIRST   AMERICAN   SYNOD. 

Immigration  Increases — The  Parochial  vs.  The  Synodical 
View — Pennsylvania  Climate — Thorns  in  the  Flesh  : 
Weygand,  Schrenk,  and  Eauss — Sectarian  Influences — 
Sprinkling  or  Immersion? — What  is  Success? — Red- 
letter  Days— Lancaster  Synod— The  Virginia  Field- 
Ground  Bought  in  Germantown  for  Orphanage  and 
Theological  Seminary— Frederick  Muhlenberg  Born— 
Handschuh's  Blunders — Synod  at  Providence — Provost 
Acrelius — Muhlenberg's  Care  for  His  Catechumens. 
(1748-1750.) 

Besides  those  things  that  are  without,  that  which  cometh  upon  me 
daily,  the  care  of  all  the  churches. 

Who  is  weak,  and  I  am  not  weak?  Who  is  offended,  and  I  burn  nof 
—2  Cor.  xi.  28.  ^9. 

Take  heed,  therefore,  unto  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock  of  God, 
over  the  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers,  to  feed  the 
Church  of  God,  which  he  hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood. — Acts 
XX.  28. 

It  was  high  time  that  the  * '  Church ' '  was  becom- 
ing organized  and  that  laborers  were  increasing  in 
the  vineyard,  for  Germans  were  pouring  into  the 
colonies  by  the  thousands.  The  number  reached 
12,000  in  1749,  and  immigration  continued  un- 
checked until  the  breaking  out  of  the  French  and 
Indian  War  in  1756.  Schlatter  estimated  in  1750 
that  there  were  twice  as  many  Lutherans  as  Re- 
formed, which  would  give  the  former  a  population 
of  60,000  souls  to  care  for  in  Pennsylvania  alone. 
(123) 


124  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

It  was  a  grand  outlook,  if  one  views  only  the  quan- 
tity of  the  material  available  ;  but  when  its  qual- 
ity is  considered,  and  the  labor  necessary  to  ' '  call, 
gather,  enlighten,  and  sanctify ' '  this  mass  by  the 
Word  and  Sacraments,  it  becomes  an  enormous 
burden.  How  heavily  the  situation  lay  on 
Muhlenberg's  heart  is  seen  from  comments  made 
when  called,  shortly  after  Synod,  to  Brunnholtz's 
sick  bed.  He  was  much  depressed  by  the  possi- 
ble loss  of  his  ablest  colleague.  "The  other 
brethren  are  faithfully  doing  their  work,  each  at 
his  particular  post,  according  to  the  talents  God 
gave  to  each  ;  but  they  do  not  as  yet  understand 
the  connection  and  interest  of  the  whole."  They 
took  the  narrow,  parochial  view  of  things  ;  but 
Muhlenberg — Brunnholtz,  too,  presumably — the 
larger,  synodical  view. 

Praising  Brunnholtz' s  ' '  spirit,  faith,  and  char- 
ity," as  he  ever  did,  but  lamenting  his  "weak 
body,"  he  says  :  "The  character  of  the  climate  is 
so  severe  that  steel  and  iron  will  get  brittle. ' '  (The 
Pennsylvania  climate  is,  indeed,  quite  changeable, 
and  must  have  been  much  rougher  in  olden  times 
when  the  forests  stretched  clear  down  to  Philadel- 
phia. This  was  written,  too,  long  before  the  days 
of  railroads,  bridges,  furnace-heated  houses,  and 
other  modern  conveniences. )  "I  had  such  a 
robust,  farmer-like  nature  that  I  knew  of  no  sick- 
ness or  weakness,  but  the  climate  and  the  never- 
ending  traveling  broke  me  down."  During  the 
winter  of  1748-9  he  suffered  with  inflammation  of 
the  right  eye,  and,  in  addition  to  other  ailments, 
had  spells  of  fainting. 

The  Lord  had  mercy  upon  Brunnholtz,  lest  Muh- 
lenberg should  have  sorrow  upon  sorrow,  for  some 
of  his  other  helpers  were  to  prove  hinderers,  es- 


PRESIDE^'T    OF   FIRST    AMERICAN    SYNOD.       125 

pecially  certain  theological  students  whom  he  be- 
friended. One  was  named  Weygand.  He  was  a 
Halle  man.  He  had  been  duped  by  some  "  New- 
landers  ' '  into  immigrating  to  America.  Here  was 
a  quandary.  To  reject  a  Halle  man  was  unwise 
and  unkind.  So,  regarding  him  as  Abraham  did 
the  ram  caught  by  his  horns  in  the  thicket  (Gen. 
xxi.),  Muhlenberg  took  him  into  his  own  house 
to  test  him.  His  theological  knowledge  and  per- 
sonal piety  proved  satisfactory.  Muhlenberg  then 
allowed  him  to  offer  free  prayers  at  family  worship, 
and  found  that  he  could  pray  without  a  book,  and 
used  good.  Biblical  terms.  Then  he  gave  him 
charge  of  some  catechumens.  He  observed  that 
Weygand  was  diligent^nd  persevering,  but,  like 
all  'beginners,  he  preached  more  than  he  cate- 
chised, and  "did  not  chew  the  questions  small 
enough  for  the  children's  comprehension.''  His 
preaching  was  more  satisfactory.  His  voice  and 
manner  were  good,  his  matter  plain  and  Biblical. 
In  fine,  ]\Iuhlenberg  concluded  that  the  man  was 
no  impostor,  and,  though,  as  he  suspected,  possi- 
bly a  trifle  unsteady,  was  deserving  of  a  place. 
As  the  York  trouble  was  settled  and  Schaum  re- 
tained, Wevgand  was  sent  to  the  Raritan  (churches. 
He  was  allowed  to  preach,  to  teach,  to  baptize, 
and,  in  extreme  cases,  to  administer  the  Lord's 
Supper  to  those  in  peril  of  death.  All  went  well 
for  a  year.  Muhlenberg  visited  him  in  August, 
1749,  to  confirm  thirty  catechumens. 

In  December,  Weygand  was  guilty  of  a  series  of 
blunders  that  nearly  wrecked  his  career,  and 
caused  the  President  of  Synod  much  anxiety. 
He  first  made  a  precipitate  proposal  of  marriage 
to  the  daughter  of  a  well-to-do  elder  with  whom 
he  was  lodging,  and,  when  the  father  asked  for 


126  HENRY    MELCHIOR   MUHLENBEKG. 

time  to  consider  the  matter,  rushed  into  a  hasty 
alHance  with  another  family  of  doubtful  standing. 
This,  and  his  ill-advised  burdening  of  an  already 
burdened  congregation  with  the  purchase  of  a  farm 
for  his  use,  caused  Synod  to  defer  his  ordination 
for  a  season. 

Another  thorn  in  the  flesh  was  one  Schrenk, 
a  student  of  philosophy,  who  was  financially 
stranded  in  Philadelphia.  In  April,  1749,  there 
was  a  wedding  in  Muhlenberg' s  house.  His  ' '  dear 
Vigera,"  then  teacher  in  Philadelphia,  was  married 
b}^  Muhlenberg  to  Miss  Anna  Stevenson,  by  birth 
a  Quaker,  by  baptism  a  Lutheran.  Brunnholtz 
brought  young  Schrenk  to  the  wedding.  Muhlen- 
berg gave  him  free  board  and  theological  instruc- 
tion for  six  months,  and  then  used  him  in  the 
outlying  stations.  Muhlenberg  had  him  write 
one  sermon  in  three  weeks,  and  revised  it  for  him. 
This  was  memorized  and  preached  in  turn  in  the 
four  congregations.  When  stationed  at  the  Saucon 
Church  and  shown  his  lodgings,  Schrenk  said  he 
was  afraid  he  could  not  get  along  with  them  ;  he 
was  not  used  to  such  humble  surroundings. 
While  Muhlenberg  records  this,  he  frequently 
praises  Schrenk' s  faithfulness.  The  man  was 
finally  ordained,  but  proved  most  ungrateful.  He 
laid  the  blame  of  his  ministerial  failure  on  Muh- 
lenberg, slandered  him,  and  worried  him  for 
nearly  ten  years.  In  1759  he  played  the  penitent, 
and  was  permitted  to  live  at  the  parsonage 
during  Muhlenberg's  absence.  In  one  of  his  par- 
oxysms of  rage  he  actually  laid  violent  hands  on 
Mrs.  Muhlenberg.  The  mild  Muhlenberg  sums 
up  the  matter  thus:  "If  ever  a  mortal  creature 
abused  my  kindness  and  took  advantage  of  my 
forbearance,    it   was    that    man    Schrenk."     He 


PRESIDENT    OF    FIRST   AMERICAN    SYNOD.       127 

drifted    finally   to    the    German    congregation   at 
Dublin,  Ireland. 

Muhlenberg  suffered  similar  ingratitude  from 
another  student  named  Rauss,  whom  he  befriended 
also  in  1749.  From  first  to  last  Rauss  showed  a 
violent  temper  and  a  suspicious  and  selfish  dispo- 
sition toward  those  who  were  doing  their  utmost 
to  assist  him.  When  placed  at  York,  in  1754,  he 
accused  Muhlenberg  and  others  of  being  false  to 
him,  and  trying  to  get  him  out  of  the  way  by  put- 
ting him  out  on  the  frontier.  He  even  made 
grave  charges  at  a  later  Synod  against  Muhlen- 
berg's character  and  orthodoxy.  He  had  to  be 
dropped  from  the  brotherhood. 

But  ''none  of  these  things  moved"  Muhlen- 
berg. They  did  not  render  him  harsh  or  sus- 
picious, though  they  were  hard  to  bear,  because 
these  men  were  trying  to  tear  down  what  he  was 
so  laboriously  trying  to  build  up. 

Sectarian  and  separatistic  movements  receive 
this  notice  in  a  letter  of  December  to  Francke  and 
Ziegenhagen  :  ' '  Daily  experience  in  my  office 
teaches  me  that  it  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  bring 
about  true  repentance  and  conversion  according  to 
the  Word  of  God.  How  easy  it  is  to  convert  un- 
converted people  to  Quakerism,  for  in  this  coun- 
try so  many  '  respectable '  persons  who  possess 
honor,  power,  and  riches  belong  to  it.  In  this 
denomination  the  people  need  not  trouble  them- 
selves with  the  written  Word  of  God  and  with  the 
Sacraments.  They  pay  the  preacher  no  salary  ! 
They  wear  the  very  plainest  garb,  and  all  can 
teach  and  preach.  They  love  one  another — if  they 
are  loved  in  turn.  They  help  the  poor — of  their 
own  denomination — and  regard  a  naturally  honest 
life  as  a  sufficient  ground  of  eternal  happiness,  and 


128  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG 

are  counted  good,  converted  members  if  they  ap- 
pear in  meeting  once  or  twice  a  year." 

After  paying  his  respects  to  a  number  of  other 
sects  he  conchides  :  "  I  must  also  lament  over 
those  of  our  own  rehgion,  and  confess  that  the 
greater  part  entertain  the  erroneous  notion  that  they 
are  already  converted  when  they  have  performed  the 
'  opus  operatum  '  of  the  external  worship  of  God, 
although  at  other  times  they  curse,  get  drunk,  and 
join  in  other  worldly  follies.  These  poor  people 
are  strengthened  in  their  folly  by  some  nine  or  ten 
Lutheran  preachers  w^ho  were  turned  out  of  office 
in  Germany  on  account  of  gross  vices — they  are 
falsely  assured  by  these  men  of  their  salvation  for 
the  sake  of  a  handful  of  barley,  and  lulled  to  sleep. 
Yea,  they  are  diligently  taught  that  other 
preachers,  who  earnestly  insist  on  repentance, 
have  deviated  from  the  Lutheran  doctrine  ! " 

In  counteracting  Quaker  and  Anabaptist  (Bap- 
tist) influences  Muhlenberg  spent  many  an  hour 
in  argument  with  the  English  as  well  as  the  Ger- 
mans. Before  an  English  widow  at  Mullaton 
could  conscientiously  submit  to  baptism  by 
sprinkling  he  had  to  explain  the  matter  from 
Scripture,  church  history,  and  the  Greek  usage  of 
"  baptism." 

To  the  reasonable  question,  ' '  What  have  we 
accomplished  up  to  this  time?"  he  replies  by 
speaking  of  the  difhculties  to  be  first  removed,  and 
then  gives  a  general  survey  of  the  years  1742-9. 
"So,  then,  whether  many  souls  are  won  and 
saved,  or  whether  our  labor  among  them  amounts 
to  mere  w^itness-bearing,  your  efforts  and  gifts  of 
love,  venerable  Fathers  and  Benefactors,  will  not 
go  unrequited."  This  is  the  language  of  one  who 
does  not  measure  everything  with  the  yardstick  of 
mere  outward  success. 


PRESIDENT    OF    FIRST    AMERICAN    SYNOD.       129 

Among  the  pleasant  events  of  1749  was  the  an- 
nual celebration  on  January  26th  of  the  first  ar- 
rivals. These  reunions  were  red-letter  days.  On 
this  occasion  the  party  was  enlivened  by  the  pres- 
ence of  Mrs.  IMuhlenberg  and  her  honored  father. 

Lancaster  had  grown  to  be  a  town  of  4000  in- 
habitants. At  the  Synodical  meeting  held  here 
June  4th-5th,  Muhlenberg  preached  in  the  morn- 
ing on  Luke  xiv.  16,  in  German.  For  the  sake  of 
the  pastorless  Episcopalians,  "the  English,"  he 
preached,  by  request,  in  English  in  the  evening, 
but,  of  course,  in  the  Lutheran  Church.  Schaum, 
of  York,  was  ordained.  In  December  he  was 
married.     Muhlenberg  contributed  a  festal  ode. 

At  Muhlenberg's  suggestion  it  was  resolved  to 
elect  annually  an  ' '  overseer ' '  of  the  ' '  United 
Churches."  The  Fathers  at  Halle  quietly  ig- 
nored this  infringement  of  the  European  superin- 
tendency  of  the  American  churches.  Though 
Brunnholtz  nominally  held  the  post  for  a  few 
years,  and  then  Handschuh,  Muhlenberg  was  ever 
the  leading  man  of  the  Synod,  and  its  President 
again  from  1760  to  1771. 

Muhlenberg's  attention  was  drawn  to  the  Vir- 
ginia field  by  the  visit  of  Rev.  George  S.  Klug. 
This  brother  came  three  hundred  miles  to  pay  his 
respects  to  his  eastern  Pennsylvania  brethren.  In 
later  years  Peter  Muhlenberg  settled  in  Virginia. 

' '  In  the  archives  of  the  Ministerium  there  is  a 
copy  of  an  indenture  showing  that  in  October, 
1749,  Muhlenberg  purchased  and  transferred  to 
Ziogenhagen  and  Francke  forty-nine  acres  of 
ground  in  Philadelphia,  first  of  all  for  a  Christian 
school  and  seminary,  then  for  a  burial  place,  and 
then  also  for  a  home  for  superannuated  ministers 
and  the  widows  of  pastors  of  the  United  Lutheran 
Congregations"  (Dr.  Jacobs). 
9 


130  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

He  makes  frequent  mention  in  his  letters  from 
1750  to  1760  of  his  desire  to  estabhsh  such  an  in- 
stitution, but  the  times  vvere  not  propitious.  This 
was  the  decade  of  the  French  and  Indian  War  ; 
then  came  the  building  of  Zion  Church,  and  then 
Muhlenberg  was  too  old  for  any  new  enterprise. 
Over  a  century  passed  before  his  plan  was  actual- 
ized by  the  erection  of  the  Germantown  Orphan 
Home  and  Asylum  for  the  Aged,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Philadelphia  Theological  Semi- 
nary. By  the  removal  of  the  latter  to  Mt.  Airy, 
quite  near  the  Orphans'  Home,  Muhlenberg's  idea 
has  been  almost  literally  realized.  His  views  on 
this  subject  and  on  the  use  of  the  English  lan- 
guage prove  him  to  have  been  the  most  far- 
sighted  man  of  his  age  in  the  American  Church. 
Would  that  he  had  had  associates  capable  of  un- 
derstanding and  seconding  his  efforts. 

Exactly  in  the  middle  of  the  century,  January 
1st,  1750,  there  was  born  a  second  son,  to  whom  the 
name  of  Frederick  Augustus  Conrad  was  given  : 
Frederick  in  honor  of  Dr.  Ziegenhagen,  Augustus 
for  Dr.  Francke,  and  Conrad  for  Colonel  Weiser, 
his  grandfather — his  three  sponsors.  This  son 
was  destined  to  shine  in  the  halls  of  Congress. 

Matters  were  going  ill  with  poor  Handschuh  at 
Lancaster.  While  a  godly  man  and  most  edifying 
preacher,  he  lacked  judgment.  This  kept  Muh- 
lenberg busy  correcting  his  blunders.  He  became 
engaged  to  his  servant,  a  perfectly  moral  person, 
yet  not  one  whom  the  congregation  cared  to  see  pre- 
side over  the  parsonage  as  "  Frau  Pastor."  Muh- 
lenberg attended  the  wedding.  It  was  more  like 
a  funeral.  As  he  foresaw,  Handschuh  could  no 
longer  maintain  his  position  there.  He  was  called 
to  Germantown,  too  distracted  a  congregation  for 
one  of  his  lachrymose  disposition. 


PRESIDENT    OF    FIRST    AMERICAN    SYNOD.       131 

From  spring  on  Muhlenberg  served  the  "Swed- 
ish-English ' '  Mullaton  Church.  "I  see  quite 
plainly  that,  in  addition  to  my  other  work,  this  is 
dragging  me  down.  I  am  not  afraid  of  death,  but 
I  have  hardly  the  inclination  or  the  means  to  live  a 
useless  cripple, ' '  writes  Muhlenberg  quite  frankly. 

In  1750  Providence  entertained  the  Synod.  Five 
ministers  and  two  catechists,  together  with  sixty 
laymen,  represented  the  fifteen  congregations.  The 
work  was  growing. 

To  accommodate  the  throng,  the  church  win- 
dows were  removed,  and  green  boughs  placed 
about  the  building.  After  the  sermon  Muhlen- 
berg made  a  short  German  address  on  "The  Foot- 
steps of  God,  "  seen  in  the  history  of  these  last  eight 
blessed  years,  and  then  gave  evidence  that  he  had 
not  neglected  his  Latinity  in  this  western  wilder- 
ness by  a  brief  Latin  address  to  the  clergy.  The 
delegates  crowded  the  parsonage  in  the  evening  to 
enjoy  the  edifying  discourse  of  their  pastors. 
Muhlenberg  regaled  them  with  foreign  missionary 
anecdotes  of  work  among  the  Malabars,  the  Jews, 
and  the  like.  How  few  of  his  hearers  realized 
how  near  Muhlenberg  had  come  to  being  a  Jewish 
or  an  East  India  missionary  ! 

Acrelius,  celebrated  for  his  "History  of  New 
Sweden,"  had  just  arrived  in  America  to  assume 
the  office  of  Provost,  or  overseer,  of  the  Swedish 
Lutheran  churches.  Nyberg  thought  to  make 
trouble  by  unfavorable  comments  on  his  absence 
from  the  German  Lutheran  Synod.  The  matter 
was  satisfactorily  explained  in  some  Latin  corre- 
spondence between  Muhlenberg  and  Acrelius. 

We  close  this  chapter  with  Muhlenberg's  ac- 
count of  his  catechetical  class  of  1750  at  New 
Hanover.  There  were  twenty  youths  and  two 
adults.      About  seventeen  of   the  number  came 


132  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

from  distant  places.  Concerning  one  of  the  adult 
catechumens,  he  writes  to  Europe  : 

"He  was  weak  in  grasping  and  remembering 
things,  but  still  desirous  of  obtaining  a  new  heart ! 
I  taught  him  in  the  simplest  way  how  to  approach 
God  in  prayer  and  what  to  ask  of  Him.  When  I 
once  asked  him  whether  he  followed  my  advice, 
he  told  me  how"  and  what  he  had  prayed  to  the 
reconciled  Father  in  Christ,  in  the  privacy  of  his 
home,  and,  while  at  work,  out  in  the  field. 

"  I  have  frequently  admonished  the  young,  one 
and  all,  during  the  catechetical  instruction,  to 
make  each  day's  lesson  the  subject  of  prayer  at 
home,  and  to  apply  it  to  themselves.  When  I 
inquired  of  each  one,  privately,  whether  he  had 
followed  my  advice,  they,  for  the  most  part,  con- 
fessed in  all  simplicity  of  heart  that  they  bowed 
their  knees  and  in  secret  asked  of  God  a  new 
heart — one  in  the  barn,  another  in  the  field,  a 
third  in  the  stable,  etc.,  wherever  they  could  be 
free  from  intrusion.  Although  I  see  innumera- 
ble obstacles  and  temptations  that  w^aylay  these 
youths,  and  that  I  cannot  remove,  but  only  fear 
and  deplore ;  yet  it  cheers  my  heart  when  I  ob- 
serve that  the  young  people  during  instruction 
and  confirmation  receive  a  living  impression  of  the 
Order  of  Salvation.  I  commit  all  into  the  hands 
of  our  Heavenly  Father  and  the  faithful  Chief 
Shepherd,  Jesus  Christ,  who  will  leave  nothing 
undone  to  save  all  who  are  willing  to  be  saved/* 


CHAPTER  II. 

AMONG  THE  LUTHERANS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

En  Route  to  New  York  with  Weiger — Carl  Rudolph 
Again — Muhlenberg  Vindicates  Hartwig — Meets  Ber- 
kenmeyer — Four  Periods  in  New  York  Lutheranism — 
A  New  Fulcrum  for  Muhlenberg — Six  Months  in  the 
Dutch  Lutheran  Pulpit  in  New  York  City,  1751 — Uses 
Three  Languages  Every  Sunday — Lutheran  Church  a 
Refuge  for  the  English — English  Prayers  and  Hymns — 
Monthly  Visits  to  Hackensack — Returns  Home  via 
Philadelphia — Margaretta  (Mrs.  Dr.  Kuuze)  Born — 
Three  Months'  Work  in  New  York  in  1752— "Metho- 
distic"  Disturbances — Muhlenberg's  Conception  of  His 
Call  to  America.     (1750-1752. ) 

For  I  have  no  man  likeminded,  who  will  naturally  care  for  your 

For  all  seek  their  own,  cot  the  things  which  are  Jesus  Christ's.— 
Philip,  ii.  20,  21. 

I  have  learned,  in  whatever  state  I  am,  therewith  to  be  content. 

1  know  looth  how  to  be  abased,  and  I  know  how  to  abound  ;  every- 
where and  in  all  things  I  am  instructed  both  to  be  full  and  to  be  hun- 
gry, both  to  abound  and  to  suffer  waut. 

I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth me.— Philip. 
iv.  11-13. 

Muhlenberg  never  outran  Providence,  nor  did 
he  shrink  from  following  where  God  pointed  the 
way.  Duty  had  called  him,  a  few  years  previous, 
to  Frederick,  Md.  Now  it  called  him  just  as  cer- 
tainly to  the  great  Province  of  New  Y^ork,  with  its 
many  Lutheran  Churches  and  their  troubles,  not 
a  few  waiting  for  a  peacemaker  like  T'.Iuhlenberg 
to  adjust  them.  Muhlen])erg  had  long  felt  it  his 
duty  to  return  the  courtesy  show^n  by  his  frequent 
visilor,  Hartwig,  but  the  opportunitv,  hitherto 
(133) 


134  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

lacking,  was  now  afforded  by  his  father-in-law's 
trip  to  New  York. 

Weiser  had  been  appointed  to  confer  with  sonie 
Canadian  Indians  at  Albany.  On  the  wa}^  he  pro- 
posed visiting  the  scenes  and  churches  of  his  child- 
hood along  the  Hudson.  He  ofiered  to  take  his 
son-in-law  with  him,  free  of  expense.  This  was 
quite  to  Muhlenberg's  liking.  He  was  desirous  of 
learning  more  concerning  the  condition  of  the 
Church  in  the  North,  as  he  was  already  familiar 
with  that  of  the  South  and  of  the  West. 

It  was  over  two  hundred  miles  to  Hartwig's. 
The  travelers  met  at  Bethlehem,  August  17th, 
1750.  They  made  a  polite  call  on  the  Moravian 
Bishop,  Cammerhof.  Muhlenberg  noted  the  beau- 
tiful Lehigh  and  the  high  mountains.  Their  route 
lay  through  Nazareth  and  across  the  Delaware.  It 
was  a  painful  journey  on  his  stiff  old  horse.  Be- 
sides, ^luhlenberg  was  sufiering  from  several  dis- 
abilities. In  those  days  bleeding  was  in  vogue. 
Mrs.  Muhlenberg,  who  had  performed  the  opera- 
tion, had  made  too  deep  an  incision.  Muhlen- 
berg's arm  was  swollen  and  painful.  His  throat, 
too,  was  sore,  and  for  some  days  he  could  hardly 
use  his  voice. 

During  the  four  weeks  which  he  spent  along  the 
Hudson,  he  preached  at  Rhinebeck  and  in  the 
neighboring  churches  of  Hartwig's  charge.  Here 
again  he  came  upon  the  trail  of  Carl  Rudolph, 
the  pretended  Prince  of  Wittenberg.  This  fellow 
scented  the  prey  from  afar,  and  wandered  wher- 
ever he  could  find  a  vacant  and  unguarded  pulpit. 
He  had  been  the  last  one  to  preach  in  the  Camp 
Church.  So  Muhlenberg  gave  it  a  spiritual  fumi- 
gation. Before  commencing  his  sermon  he  pub- 
licly prayed  that  God  would  purify  the  house  for 
His  own  honor ;  that  He  would  gather  the  scat- 


AMONG  THE  LUTHERANS  OF  NEW  YORK.   13S 

tered  sheep  ;  and  that  He  would  forgive  those  who 
had  allowed  this  impostor  to  preach  there. 

He  performed  a  great  service  in  quieting  the 
factious  opposition  to  Hartwig.  It  is  true  that 
Hartwig  was  altogether  too  stiff  and  pedantic.  He 
came  late  to  service  and  preached  too  long,  and, 
by  his  pointedly  anti-Calvinistic  sermons,  need- 
lessly wounded  the  feelings  of  some  of  his  mem- 
bers who  had  married  into  Calvinistic  families. 
Hartwig  was,  in  truth,  an  eccentric  bachelor.  The 
gravest  charge  against  him  was  that  he  was  a 
secret  Moravian  and  not  a  staunch  Lutheran. 
Muhlenberg  knew  better.  He  bore  testimony  to 
his  friend  which  allayed  the  strife,  and  then  took 
him  off  to  Pennsylvania  with  him  for  a  while. 

"It  is  easier, ' '  observes  jNIuhlenberg  of  this 
case,  "  to  be  a  cowherd  or  a  shepherd  in  Germany 
than  a  pastor  here,  where  every  peasant  acts  the 
part  of  patron  of  the  parish,  for  which  he  may 
not  have  the  proper  intelligence  or  the  necessary 
skill." 

Muhlenberg's  movements  were  carefully  re- 
ported to  ' '  old  Father  Berkenmeyer, ' '  at  Loonen- 
burg  (Athens),  on  the  Hudson.  He  was  the 
ecclesiastical  leader  in  this  province  and  a  pro- 
found theologian.  He  had  avoided  a  clash  with 
Muhlenberg  in  the  affair  of  Wolf,  at  Raritan,  by 
remaining  away.  He  was  prejudiced  against 
Muhlenberg  because  he  was  a  Halle  man.  Ber- 
kenmeyer disliked  Pietists  ;  and  verily  one  who 
had  seen  some  of  the  sickly  exhibitions  of  the 
later  Pietism  in  Germany — what  we  should  now 
call  IMethodistic  extravagances — may  be  excused 
for  his  caution.  But  Berkenmeyer  could  be  fair. 
When  asked  his  opinion  of  Muhlenberg,  he  had 
the  grace  to  reply  that  he  had  nothing  to  say  against 
him — he  was  an  Evangelical  preacher.    These  two 


136  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

leaders  met  face  to  face,  for  the  only  time,  a  few 
weeks  later,  in  New  York,  but  Muhlenberg  has  neg- 
lected to  transmit  to  posterity  their  conversation. 

At  this  point  IMuhlenberg  had  to  part  company 
with  the  faithful  old  horse  that  had  carried  him 
thousands  of  miles,  summer  and  winter,  for  seven 
years  past.  Hartwig  and  he  now  went  by  boat  to 
New  York,  "that  ancient,  renowned  city" — an 
expression  of  Muhlenberg's  that  smacks  of  New 
World  patriotism.  The  Lutheran  Church  there 
had  four  periods  in  its  history  :  A  Dutch  period, 
followed  by  an  Anglicizing  period  ;  then  a  German 
period,  followed  by  a  second  Anglicizing  period. 
At  present  several  periods  overlapped  and  three 
languages  were  needed.  The  language  war  con- 
cerned both  the  Dutch  and  the  Germans.  The 
latter  had  already  secured  half  of  the  services  in 
their  language,  but  some  disgruntled  members,  of 
none  too  spiritual  a  character,  had  seceded  and 
started  an  opposition  German  Church,  with  Rev. 
J.  A.  Reuss  as  pastor.  Muhlenberg  had  warned 
him  against  being  made  a  tool  of  to  injure  the 
Dutch  Church.  Hence  he  declined  Reuss'  invi- 
tation to  preach  in  his  pulpit.  The  Dutch  pulpit 
had  been  vacated  by  Knoll.  By  invitation  of  the 
officers  Muhlenberg  preached  two  sermons  here — 
in  German  and  in  English.  ''It  is  a  distressing 
condition  of  things  :  There  is  a  fine,  well-built 
church,  in  a  good  locality,  in  the  city.  They 
have  £400  at  interest,  and  there  is  a  comfortable 

parsonage But  now  it  seems  as  if 

the  end  were  not  far  off."  Yet  it  was  very  far  off. 
The  New  Yorkers  were  impressed  with  the  fact 
that  IMuhlenberg,  to  whom  they  had  written  sev- 
eral times  about  their  difficulties,  was  the  only 
man  in  America  strong  enough  to  solve  them. 

In  a  letter  of  November  8th  they  sounded  him 


AMONG    THE    LUTHERANS   OF    NEW    YORK.      137 

about  assuming  the  pastorate.  In  December  he 
rephed,  that,  willing  as  he  was  to  make  the  sacri- 
fice, he  would  have  to  be  assured  that  his  own 
congregations  were  not  left  a  prey  to  the  wolves. 
Furthermore,  he  would  have  to  secure  permission 
from  the  Fathers  in  Europe  to  make  the  change. 
He  also  insisted  on  liberty  to  attend  the  annual  syn- 
odical  meetings  and  to  do  missionary  work  among 
the  vacant  congregations  in  the  Province  of  New 
York.  It  was  plain  that  he  was  seeking  for  a  new 
fulcrum  for  his  lever,  and  found  it  in  the  second 
city  of  America. 

Matters  in  the  Pennsylvania  churches  were  in  a 
fairly  good  condition,  but,  in  Muhlenberg's  own 
parish,  owing  to  the  death  and  removal  to  the 
West  of  many  of  the  founders  of  the  church,  his 
salary  was  not  keeping  pace  with  his  increasing 
expenses  and  he  Avas  running  into  debt.  He  felt 
that  a  younger  man  might  now  be  able  to  carry 
on  the  work  there,  while  he  threw  himself  into 
the  breach  in  New  York.  He  tells  the  Fathers 
that  the  call  was  wholly  without  his  seeking,  and 
that  he  would  not  willingly  hinder  God's  wise  de- 
signs. ''Alas,"  he  writes,  "how  afraid  I  often 
become,  when  I  reflect  upon  the  grave  responsi- 
bilities of  the  pastoral  office  and  my  great  unfit- 
ness for  it.  Ah,  Lord,  be  Thou  not  severe  with 
me,  but  merciful,  and,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  His  merits,  cast  my  sins  of  office  and  station 
behind  Thee,  and  let  grace  be  instead  of  justice 
and  mercy  instead  of  judgment.  Amen.  Kyrie 
Eleison." 

In  a  matter  of  such  gravity  Muhlenberg  would 
not  act  without  obtaining  the  opinion  of  his 
clerical  brethren.  Despite  his  position  and  expe- 
rience he  would  not  arrogate  to  himself  all  wis- 
dom  or   authority.     A   pastoral   conference   was 


138  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

called  at  Tulpehocken.  On  his  way  thither  he 
visited  the  new  town  of  Reading,  where  Weiser, 
with  an  eye  to  the  future,  had  secured  a  church 
lot  for  the  Lutherans. 

At  Tulpehocken  a  pretty  incident  took  place. 
The  preachers  climbed  to  the  summit  of  South 
Mountain.  As  they  were  surveying  the  splendid 
panorama  for  thirty  miles  around,  three  eagles 
circled  above  their  heads,  rising  higher  and 
higher  until  lost  to  view  in  the  splendor  of  the 
sun's  rays.  To  these  children  of  Halle  this 
sight  would  call  to  mind  an  emblem  on  the  front 
of  the  Orphan  House  at  Halle — an  eagle,  couch- 
ing in  front  of  the  widespread  golden  raj^s  of  the 
sun. 

The  brethren  granted  Muhlenberg  leave  of 
absence  for  six  months.  His  people  were  loath  to 
assent  to  the  plan.  He  left  his  family  behind 
as  a  pledge  of  his  return.  By  the  middle  of 
May,  then,  he  was  installed  in  a  scantily  furnished 
parsonage  in  New  York.  A  lad  prepared  his 
oreakfast.  He  dined  and  lodged  at  a  deacon's 
house.  For  a  family  man  of  forty,  in  love  with 
the  country,  to  be  separated  from  his  household, 
and  shut  up  in  a  city  where  he  could  not  get  a 
drink  of  good  water,  and  to  be  compelled  to  spend 
the  hot  summer  there,  was  a  real  hardship,  but, 
then,  "  Ecclesia  Plantanda."  "The  poor  souls 
in  New  York  were,"  he  says,  '^  accustomed  for  so 
many  years  to  be  quieted  and  comforted  with 
'opus  operatum,'  that  they  imagined  that  a  two 
hours'  church  service  was  quite  sufficient  for  justifi- 
cation. Whatever  did  not  sound  like  the  old  tune 
they  were  accustomed  to,  but  called  for  conversion 
to  God  and  a  living  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  that 
they  accounted  dangerous  doctrine." 

His  presence  brought  unity  and  new  life  to  the 


AMONG   THE   LUTHERANS   OF   NEW^YORK.      139 

distracted  church.  On  May  19th  he  began  his 
important  work  with  two  German  sermons,  given 
with  a  clearness  of  voice  and  distinctness  of  enun- 
ciation that  proved  rather  annoying  to  the  neigh- 
boring Episcopahan  Church.  On  Whitsunday  he 
dehvered  the  morning  sermon  in  Enghsh,  and  in 
the  afternoon  ventured  on  a  Dutch  sermon.  Pres- 
ently he  took  upon  himself  the  burden  of  three 
sermons  a  Sunday,  in  as  many  different  lan- 
guages. It  cost  him  no  little  trouble,  with  Bible 
and  dictionary,  to  provide  himself  with  a  stock  of 
apt  words  and  Biblical  quotations  in  Dutch  and 
English.  This  remarkable  linguistic  feat  is  a 
credit  to  his  heart  as  well  as  to  his  head  :  not  every- 
one that  would  do  this  could  ;  and  not  everyone 
that  could  do  it  would  shoulder  such  a  burden. 
Muhlenberg  was  willing  to  be  anything  and  to  do 
anything  that  would  advance  the  interests  of  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

The  Dutch  sermons  were  written  out  in  full  and 
memorized.  At  first  this  took  half  the  week. 
The  English  evening  sermon  was  partly  for  the 
benefit  of  outsiders,  whose  English  churches  were 
closed  in  the  evening  or  who  were  averse  to  the 
strict  Calvinism  preached  there.  It  is  a  startling 
idea  to  think  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  so  often 
looked  down  on  by  the  native  Americans,  as  a  place 
of  spiritual  refuge  for  the  English  Presbyterians, 
Reformed,  and  Episcopahans,  and  that,  in  one  of 
our  foremost  cities,  as  far  back  as  1750, — the 
preacher,  too,  not  a  native  American,  but  an  im- 
ported ''foreigner." 

The  explanation  is  to  be  found  in  the  man  as 
well  as  in  the  doctrine.  He  was  a  warm-hearted 
man  as  well  as  a  sound  Lutheran,  and  so  preached 
Christ  as  to  win  the  confidence  of  all  parties  and 
to  feed  their  souls.     He  cemented  the  Dutch  con- 


140  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

gregation  ;  and  wherever  he  appeared  in  the  prov- 
ince he  rescued  the  name  of  Lutheran  pastor  from 
reproach. 

He  remarks  that  he  must  be  more  careful  of 
his  EngUsh  among  critical  city  people.  He  felt 
the  want  of  a  large  print  quarto  English  Bible. 
In  a  year  or  two  we  find  him  using  spectacles. 
The  purchase  of  the  Bible  had  to  be  delayed. 
His  first  quarter's  salary,  £20,  or  ^100.00,  kindly 
prepaid,  had  to  go  for  clothing  and  furniture. 

The  evening  services  crowded  the  sanctuary. 
For  lack  of  an  English  Lutheran  liturgy  he  was 
compelled  to  compile  prayers  from  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer,  conforming  them  as  much  as 
possible  to  German  and  Dutch  usage.  He  had  to 
line  the  hymns  from  a  soHtary  copy  of  what  he 
calls  ''the  Lutheran  Hymn  Book,"  namely,  the 
"  Psalmodia  Germanica,"  or,  "The  German 
Psalmodia,  Translated  from  the  High  Dutch,  To- 
gether with  Proper  Tunes  and  Thorough-bass,'^ 
published  at  London,  1732.  A  specimen  verse  of 
"  Jesu,  Deinen  tiefe  Wunden,"  reads  thus  : 

"  Christ,  Thy  holy  wounds  and  passion, 
Bloody  sweat,  cross,  death,  and  tomb, 
Be  my  daily  mediation, 
Here,  as  long  as  I  live  from  home. 
When  Thou  seest  a  sinful  thought 
Rise  within  to  make  me  naught, 
Show  me  that  my  own  pollution 
Caused  Thy  bloody  execution." 

He  mingled  freely  with  the  most  prominent 
persons  in  the  city,  and  exchanged  visits  of  cour- 
tesy with  pastors  of  other  denominations.  The 
limited  size  of  the  city  in  1751  would  in  part  ac- 
count for  this.  His  Honor,  the  English  Judge, 
found  in  Muhlenberg  a  well-bred,  representative 
Lutheran  clergyman,  with  clear  credentials  and 


AMONG    THE    LUTHERANS    OF    NEW    YORK.      141 

respectable  family  connections  (the  Weisers),  who 
impressed  him  so  favorably  that  he  sent  him 
home  in  his  own  coach.  The  Judge's  prophecy, 
however,  that  in  a  few  j^ears  all  the  foreign  lan- 
guages would  die  out  in  New  York  must  have 
amused  his  guest.  The  parson  knew  better  than 
the  judge,  and  builded  according  to  his  better 
knowledge. 

Once  a  month  he  spent  a  Sunday  with  the 
Dutch  Church  at  Hackensack,  on  the  Jersey  side 
of  the  Hudson.  Services  had  been  kept  up  by 
the  reading  of  a  sermon,  but  the  singing  had  gone 
to  ruin.  Muhlenberg  could,  on  occasion,  be  his 
own  precentor,  and,  if  need  be,  his  own  organist, 
too.  One  communion  day  he  preached  on  the 
Words  of  Institution.  He  says  in  his  diary  :  "I 
refrained  from  all  scholastic  fancies,  and  rested 
simply  on  the  clear  testamentary  words  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  acting  therein  like  Queen  Eliz- 
abeth, who,  when  questioned  by  the  Romanists 
about  this  article  of  faith,  answered  : 

"  It  was  the  Word  that  spake  it ; 
He  took  the  bread  and  brake  it, 
And  what  the  Word  did  make  it, 
That  I  believe  and  take  it." 

By  way  of  Philadelphia  he  returned  to  Provi- 
dence late  in  August.  On  September  17th  his 
second  daughter  was  born.  She  was  baptized 
Margaretta  Henrietta,  in  honor  of  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Francke.  She  became  the  wife  of  the  celebrated 
Rev.  Prof.  J.  C.  Kunze,  D.  D.,  next  to  Muhlen- 
berg the  ablest  man  in  the  German-American 
Church  of  the  Eighteenth  Century. 

During  the  winter  of  1751-2  Muhlenberg  was 
in  the  treadmill  of  duty.  He  had  to  fetch  up  his 
missionary  correspondence,  and  to  make  copies  of 


142  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

his  diaries  for  Europe.  Two  new  recruits  came 
from  Halle — Heintzelmann  and  Schultz.  The 
former  died  after  a  few  years'  labor,  and  the  latter 
soon  dropped  from  the  ranks. 

Muhlenberg  would  have  accepted  a  permanent 
call  to  New  York,  but  the  Fathers  would  not  con- 
sent to  his  leaving  Pennsylvania.  So  he  con- 
tented himself  with  another  three  months'  visit 
during  the  summer  of  1752.  He  now  introduced 
his  Pennsylvania  custom  of  catechising  the  adult 
members.  One  old  man  begged  to  be  excused,  as 
he  could  no  longer  pubhcly  repeat  the  Catechism, 
and  was  afraid  that  the  children  would  laugh  at 
his  mistakes.  iMuhlenberg  consoled  him,  and 
said  that,  if  he  were  in  a  state  of  grace,  he  might 
answer  from  his  personal  experience.  To  prevent 
bashfulness,  IMuhlenberg  next  Sunday  questioned 
old  and  young  indiscriminately. 

In  those  days  the  preaching  of  Whitfield  was 
producing  disturbances  similar  to  those  produced 
by  Methodism  a  little  later.  The  Reformed 
Church  at  Hackensack  had  two  pastors.  "The 
younger  man,"  says  Muhlenberg,  ''encouraged 
those  who  were  spiritually  awakened  to  meet 
among  themselves  from  week  to  week  for  devo- 
tional exercises.  His  intentions  were  undoubt- 
edly good  ;  but,  as  he  did  not  regularly  attend 
the  meetings,  various  disorders  crept  in.  They 
attempted  at  every  meeting  to  interpret  and  apply 
a  chapter  of  the  Bible,  which  was  beyond  their 
ability.  They  used,  in  praying,  terms  of  an 
offensive  character,  set  up  a  false  standard  of  re- 
generation, and  looked  for  extraordinary  or  super- 
natural things. 

"  One  of  the  consequences  of  such  assumptions 
was  a  hasty  judgment  and  condemnation  of  those 
who  did  not  experience  the  same  state  of  feelings. 


AMONG    THE    LUTHERANS    OF   NEW    YORK.      143 

Those  who  thought  themselves  in  a  state  of  grace 
considered  all  those  who  did  not  belong  to  their 
circle,  'publicans  and  sinners,'  and  the  elder  pas- 
tor a  dead  literahst,  while  they  were  in  turn 
called,  by  the  old,  conservative  party,  '  Pharisees,^ 
'enthusiasts,'  etc. 

' '  Wherever  I  went,  the  talk  was  about  these 
measures  and  exercises,  and  my  opinion  was 
asked.  I  answered  that,  according  to  the  Word  of 
God,  services  held  for  the  increase  of  godliness 
were  necessary  and  useful,  provided  they  were 
conducted  in  the  presence  of  experienced  teachers 
and  pastors,  for  the  honor  of  God,  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  Church,  the  advantage  of  our  fellow- 
men,  and  the  edification  of  awakened  souls." 

His  friend,  Schlatter,  called  one  day,  with  six 
Reformed  missionaries,  whom  he  had  brought  over 
from  Germany.  JMuhlenberg' s  significant  greet- 
ing to  them  was  :  ' '  Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as 
sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves.  Be  ye,  therefore, 
wise  as  serpents  and  harmless  as  doves." 

His  time  had  expired.  He  found  a  pastor  for 
New  York  in  the  person  of  Weygand  of  Raritan, 
and  returned  home,  for  thus  had  he  Vv^itten  before 
going  to  New  York  the  second  time  : 

''My  first  and  lawful  call  is  for  Pennsylvania. 
My  call  and  business  in  America  have  been,  these 
nine  years  past,  to  gather  our  poor  and  scattered 
Lutherans  into  congregations,  and  to  introduce 
lawfully  called,  ordained,  and  pious  ministers. 
If  I  can  do  the  same,  by  the  help  of  God,  in 
New  York,  I  will  not  fear  or  mind  any  trouble, 
persecution,  or  evil  report.  But,  then,  good 
people  must  not  depend  upon  my  stajdng  here  or 
there,  but  thank  God  if  they  be  provided  with 
sound  and  faithful  ministers,  and  give  me  liberty 
to  go  from  one  place  to  another,  and  see  how  far, 


144  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

by  the  assistance  of  the  Lord,  I  may  add  my  mite 
to  the  upbuilding  of  our  Lutheran  Church  in 
America." 

Note,  not  ''German,"  or  ''English,"  or 
' '  Dutch, ' '  but ' '  Lutheran ' '  Church.  Note,  again, 
that  his  thought  and  care  were  not  for  the  North 
or  the  South,  the  East  or  the  West,  but  for  "Amer- 
ica." To  build  up  his  beloved  Lutheran  Church 
"in  America"  this  loyal  Lutheran,  and  no  less 
loyal  American,  would  "not  fear  or  mind  any 
trouble,  persecution,  or  evil  report."  Glorious 
ideal !     Inspiring  example  ! 

"  God  bless  our  native  land ! 
Firm  may  she  ever  stand, 

Through  storm  and  night ; 
When  the  wild  tempests  rave, 
Ruler  of  winds  and  wave, 
Do  Thou  our  country  save 

By  Thy  great  might." 


CHAPTER  III. 

YEARS   OF   TRIBULATION. 

St.  Michael's,  Germantown,  Dedicated — ]Muhlenberg  as 
Poet — Troubles  in  Germantown — Gerock  to  Lancaster — 
A  Grateful  Beneficiary — Trip  to  Frederick,  1753 — De- 
clines a  £300  Anglican  Pulpit — 1754,  Appeal  to  the 
Mother-Church  :  Difficulties  Frankly  Stated — ^luhlen- 
berg  Under  a  Cloud  at  Halle — Acrelius  Sketches  the 
Crisis  in  the  German  Churches — "  Society  for  the  Pro- 
motion of  the  Gospel  Among  the  Germans" — Weiser 
a  Lieutenant-Colonel — Henry  Ernst,  the  Botanist,  and 
Other  Children  Born — An  Extensive  Journey  Planned — 
Declines  Call  to  Xova  Scotia — 1758  and  1759  (with 
Family)  at  Earitan — Suffers  Insult  in  St.  Michael's, 
Philadelphia— Slanders.     (1752-1759. ) 

But  in  all  things  approving  ourselves,  as  the  ministers  of  God,  in 
much  patience,  in  afflictions,  in  necessities,  in  distresses. 

In  stnpes,  in  imprisonments,  in  tumults,  in  labors,  in  watchings,  in 
fasiings  —2  Cor.  vi.  4-5. 

In  j  uriieyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in 
perils  by  mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  lieathen,  in  perils  in 
the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  iu  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils 
amoug "false  brethren.— 2  COR.  xi.  26. 

Occasionally  Muhlenberg  felt  moved  to  poetry. 
He  contributed  a  poem  to  Shaum's  wedding,  and 
a  hymn  of  thirty-six  stanzas  to  the  dedication  of 
the  enlarged  St.  Michael's  Church,  of  German- 
town,  October  1st,  1752.  Of  these  the  pastors 
sung  the  twenty-second  and  twenty-third,  to  a 
harp  accompaniment : 

"  22.  Lass,  Jehovah,  Dein  gefallen, 

AVass  Dir  Herz  and  Zunge  singt. 
Hore,  wie  Dein  Volk  mit  Lallen 
Dir  dies  Haus  zuin  Opfer  bringt, 
10  (145) 


146  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

Und  es  widnet  Deiner  Eh  re 
Zum  Gebraiich  des  reinen  Lehre, 
Die  durch  Deines  Geistes  Kraft 
In  uns  neue  Herzen  schafft." 

Provost  Acrelius  consecrated  the  church.  Muhl- 
enberg preached  the  sermon,  on  John  v.  1-9. 
Next  day  the  Fifth  Synodical  Meeting  was  held, 
with  twelve  preachers  and  sixty-eight  laymen 
present.  Acrelius  expressed  his  gratification  in 
a  Latin  address,  to  which  Muhlenberg  responded 
in  the  same  tongue.  Handschuh  records  in  his 
diar}^  :  ''Nothing  so  pleasant,  edifying,  and  in- 
spiring as  this  service  have  I  ever  before  expe- 
rienced in  this  country."  But  there  were 
' '  breakers  ahead. ' '  Muhlenberg,  long  after,  said 
of  the  event,  that  ''the  United  Preachers  edified 
themselves,  as  the  disciples  at  the  Transfiguration 
of  Christ  on  the  mountain  (Matt.  xvii. ),  because 
they  were  afterward  to  accompany  Him  to  Geth- 
semane. ' '  The  Synod  held  two  more  meetings, 
and  then  slumbered  soundly  for  six  years.  Al- 
most its  last  act  was  to  appoint  a  day  of  repent- 
ance, prayer,  and  thanksgiving,  to  be  observed  in 
all  the  Swedish,  German,  and  Dutch  churches. 
1  Sam.  vii.  12  was  to  be  used  for  the  introduction, 
and  Joel  ii.  12-17  to  be  taken  as  the  text  for  the 
sermon. 

Muhlenberg's  tribulations  began  at  the  annual 
congregational  meeting  at  German  town,  in  1753. 
He  failed  to  heal  the  strife.  The  church  divided 
into  two  factions.  There  was  much  pettiness  and 
bitterness  against  both  Handschuh  and  the 
"United  Pastors,"  that  is,  the  Synod.  The 
Handschuh  party  withdrew  and  rented  a  house 
near  the  church.  Muhlenberg  gave  this  move- 
ment his  countenance  by  preaching  for  ' '  the  little 
flock  ' '  on  the  following  Sunday. 


YEARS    OF    TRIBULATION.  147 

Secret  efforts  were  made  to  foment  disturbances 
at  Philadelphia  and  other  places.  Muhlenberg's 
clerical  enemies  made  their  appearance  on  the 
scene.  The  whole  affair  gave  him  no  end  of  trou- 
ble. A  slight  blaze  was,  likewise,  kindled  in  the 
Raritan  churches.  A  document  against  the  Synod 
was  read  there  during  the  Good  Friday  services. 
Muhlenberg's  visit  quenched  the  incipient  flame. 

Just  then  a  new  pastor  arrived  for  Lancaster,  a 
Wurtemburger,  Rev.  J.  S.  Gerock.  He  prudently 
kept  aloof  from  the  Germantown  trouble,  but  he 
also  for  years  held  aloof  from  the  Synod.  This 
meant  the  practical  Avithdrawal  of  the  strong  Lan- 
caster church. 

In  the  case  of  Wagner,  Muhlenberg  had  an  op- 
portunity of  returning  good  for  evil.  When  the 
log  church  at  Reading  was  ready  for  dedication, 
Muhlenberg  was  invited  to  preach  the  dedica- 
tory sermon.  (His  father-in-law,  Weiser,  it  will 
be  recalled,  now  lived  there. )  Wagner  published  a 
furious  pamphlet  against  ^luhlenberg,  accusing 
him  of  heresy.  Muhlenberg's  only  reply  was  to 
endeavor  to  persuade  the  Reading  congregation  to 
recall  Wagner  as  their  pastor. 

Of  another  crabbed  clerical  neighbor  who  ''hated 
him  without  a  cause,"  Muhlenberg  says  with 
Christian  charity,  ' '  Though  Mr.  Scherlin  avoided 
intercourse  with  me,  I  always  loved  him,  because 
I  was  occasionally  informed  that  he  was  diligent 
in  preaching  and  catechising."  Again,  "I  was 
living  in  hope  that  beneath  the  rough  shell  a  good 
kernel  might  3^et  grow  under  the  influence  of  suf- 
fering, and  through  the  working  of  the  Good 
Spirit."  He,  therefore,  invited  Scherlin  to  a 
Sy nodical  meeting,  with  the  happiest  results. 

During  the  winter  of  1753  another  waif  cast 
anchor  in  the  Muhlenlieri?  home — a 


148  HENKY    MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

of  twenty-six,  named  William  Graaf.  Muhlenberg 
awakened  in  him  the  religious  impressions  of  his 
youth.  He  helped  him  on  to  school-teaching, 
and  ultimately  into  the  ministry.  Graaf  became 
a  useful  servant  of  the  Church. 

Had  Muhlenberg  desired  it,  he  might  have  be- 
come the  pastor  of  the  Anglican  Church  at  Fred- 
ericktown,  Md. ,  with  £300  a  year  salary.  He  had 
made  a  hasty  trip  in  December,  1753,  to  secure 
the  release  of  the  Lutherans  from  the  heavy  tax 
which  they  had  to  pay  toward  the  support  of  the 
Enghsh  Established  Church.  As  the  Lutherans 
had  no  house  of  worship,  Muhlenberg  on  this 
occasion  preached  in  the  vacant  Episcopalian  pul- 
pit, and  also  in  the  Reformed  Church,  with  the 
result  mentioned  above. 

Before  it  went  to  sleep  in  1754,  the  Synod  ap- 
pointed ' '  the  three  oldest  pastors ' '  to  prepare  an 
Appeal  to  the  Fathers  in  London  and  Halle.  The 
gist  of  it  was  presented  to  Synod,  and  approved 
by  it.  Muhlenberg,  the  pioneer  missionary,  signed 
it  first  as  ' '  Senior  Minist. , ' '  that  is,  Senior  of  the 
IMinisterium,  an  honorary  position  still  retained 
by  the  Body.  It  is  an  exhaustive  document,  that 
would  cover  thirty  or  more  pages  like  this.  It 
describes  the  whole  field,  from  the  beginning  of 
German  immigration  in  1680  to  the  date  of  writ- 

There  is  something  quite  modern  in  the  re- 
minder that  the  Episcopalians  and  the  Presby- 
terians and  the  Sw^edish  Lutherans  have  received 
foreign  help,  but  that  comparatively  little  has  been 
done  for  the  German  Lutherans. 

The  difficulties  of  each  parish  are  candidly  stated. 
In  Philadelphia,  for  instance,  a  modest  church  has 
been  built,  but  S8000.00  debt  remains,  and  the 
people  can  do  no  more  than  keep  up  the  interest. 


YEARS    OF    TRIBULATION.  149 

Three  serious  dangers  threaten  the  inner  Hfe  of  the 
churches  : 

1.  The  presumption  and  tyranny  of  one  or 
two  rich  men  in  certain  congregations,  who  think 
that  their  contributions  give  them  the  right  to 
dictate. 

2.  The  lawlessness  of  many  immigrants,  who 
turn  liberty  into  license,  and  rail  against  a  regular 
ministry,  divine  worship,  and  good  order  as  ' '  pa- 
pacy "  itself. 

3.  The  introduction  of  scamps  as  pretended 
*'  ministers  "  by  the  "  Newlanders,"  w^ho  sell  their 
services  from  the  ship  to  Lutherans  in  search  of 
a  cheap  minister  (Jer.  v.  30,  31  :  viii.  21,  22). 

The  hardships  under  which  the  "United  Min- 
isters ' '  labor  are  also  three  : 

1.  The  poverty  of  the  people.  In  a  congrega- 
tion of  three  hundred  souls  scarcely  fifteen  can  be 
found  able  to  contribute  toward  the  erection  of  a 
church.  The  financial  responsibility  falls  upon  the 
pastors. 

2.  The  necessity  of  preaching  in  barns,  where 
the  bleating  of  sheep  and  the  lowing  of  cattle 
interfere  with  divine  worship.  Also  the  lack  of 
school-houses  and  of  time  to  devote  to  teaching. 
The  pastors  have  to  be  in  the  saddle  most  of  the 
time. 

3.  Many  thousands  of  Lutherans  are  scattered 
throughout  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  Maryland, 
Jersey,  New  York,  etc.  There  is  no  provision  for 
traveling  expenses,  and  no  one  to  fill  the  home  pul- 
pit. People  often  come  one  and  even  two  hundred 
miles  to  hear  a  sermon  and  to  enjoy  the  sacra- 
ments, and  weep  bitterly  over  the  destitution 
which  the  United  Pastors  are  powerless  to  help. 

They  contrast  the  condition  of  the  pastors  in  the 
Mother-Church  in  Europe  with  their  own  condi- 


150  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

tion.  The  former  have  an  assured  support,  com- 
fortable churches  and  school-houses,  security  in 
office,  etc.  The  latter,  none  of  these  things. 
Some  of  the  American  preachers  are  getting 
old  (Muhlenberg  was  now  forty-three)  and  worn 
out;  others,  sickly  (Brunnholtz).  The  uncertainty 
and  insufficiency  of  support  are  depressing  to  the 
spirits.  Out  of  ten  families  there  is  scarcely  one 
that  pa3^s  up  its  annual  subscription  in  full.  The 
sects  (Quakers,  Dunkards,  Mennonites,  etc.), 
through  newspapers,  in  company,  and  at  taverns, 
diffuse  among  the  peojjle  the  idea  that  the  preach- 
ers, as  well  as  their  hearers,  ought  to  Avork  at  a 
trade,  cut  wood,  sow,  and  reap  during  the  week, 
and  then  on  Sunday  preach  to  the  people  gratui- 
tously. ''That  is  water  on  their  mill:  that  is 
what  the  people  want  to  hear." 

The  picture  is  such  a  gloomy  one  that  one  might 
imagine  it  the  work  of  Handschuh,  but  here,  as 
everywhere,  Muhlenberg  was  the  ' '  first  among 
equals. ' '  The  pastors  feel  that  they  are  ' '  stand- 
ing at  the  base  of  a  vast  mountain."  How  to 
clamber  up  its  rugged  sides  and  reach  its  cloud- 
kissing  summit  they  see  not ;  yet  there  is  no  hint 
of  retreat. 

"Theirs  but  to  do  and  die." 

And  what  came  of  this  earnest  petition  ?  For  a 
time  Muhlenberg  was  under  a  cloud  at  Halle. 
The  Fathers  deemed  him  visionary  and  eccentric. 
This  petition  was  only  wild  Western  talk  ! 

But  Acrelius,  Provost  of  the  Swedish  Churches, 
1749-1756,  and  author  of  the  celebrated  "  History 
of  New  Sweden,"  wrote  home  to  Sweden  in  pre- 
cisely the  same  vein  : 

''It  is  yet  a  doubtful  matter  whether  our  Ger- 
man Lutheran   Church  will  stand  or  fall ;  and  it 


YEARS    OF   TRIBULATION.  161 

is  improbable,  if  it  were  to  fall,  whether  it  could 
be  revived.  The  means  to  build  churches,  sup- 
port ministers,  build  and  sustain  schools  are  al- 
together inadequate  for  needy  emigrants  and  a 
people  scarcely  recovered  from  long  servitude 
( Redemption ers).  What  wonder  if  our  weak 
powers  are  altogether  incommensurable  with  our 
godly  desires." 

This  is  not  the  language  of  a  scoffing  Ammonite, 
but  of  a  faithful  fellow-worker. 

In  the  above  Appeal  mention  is  made  of  a  * '  So- 
ciety for  Propagating  the  Gospel  Among  the  Ger- 
mans " — really  to  establish  charity  schools  among 
them.  The  prime  movers  were  Dr.  William 
Smith,  Provost  of  the  new  college,  now  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  and  Benjamin  Franklin. 
Conrad  Weiser,  Muhlenberg's  father-in-law,  was 
made  one  of  the  Trustees.  Franklin's  underlying 
motive  may  be  gauged  by  an  article  published  in 
1751  :  ''Why  should  the  Palatine  boors  be  suf- 
fered to  swarm  into  our  settlements,  and,  by  herd- 
ing together,  establish  their  language  and  manners 
to  the  exclusion  of  ours  ?  Why  should  Pennsyl- 
vania, founded  by  the  English,  become  a  colony 
of  aliens  who  will  shortly  be  so  numerous  as  to 
Germanize  us  instead  of  our  Anglicizing  them,  and 
will  never  adopt  our  language  or  customs  any 
more  than  they  can  acquire  our  complexion  ? ' ' 
Here  we  note  that  on  September  24th,  1754, 
Muhlenberg  and  his  friend.  Rev.  J.  C.  Hartwig, 
proceeded  to  the  Supreme  Court  at  Philadelphia, 
certified  that  they  had  taken  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  on  September  15th,  and,  taking  the 
required  oath,  became  naturahzed  subjects  of  Great 
Britain. 

Schlatter  was  appointed  inspector  of  the  charity 
schools.     Schools  were  established.     The  people 


152  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

at  Lancaster  petitioned  for  a  teacher  who  could 
instruct  not  only  in  English  and  German,  but  also 
in  Latin  and  Greek.  Sauer,  of  course,  bitterly  op- 
posed the  idea  of  ' '  free  "  or  "  charity ' '  schools  as 
an  insult  to  the  Germans.  Franklin  wrote  to  Muhl- 
enberg for  advice.  He  approved  of  the  plan,  and, 
as  he  was  not  able  to  carry  out  his  intention  of 
buying  a  press  and  printing  an  anti-Sauer  paper  to 
instill  into  his  countrymen  ' '  sound  notions  con- 
cerning the  inestimable  privileges  they  enjoy 
under  the  British  Protestant  Government,"  he  ad- 
vised the  Trustees  to  do  it.  He  would  assist  in 
editing  such  a  paper,  etc.  The  paper  was  issued 
by  Franklin.  Handschuh  edited  it.  Schools 
were  established  at  prominent  Lutheran  centres. 
Lutheran  and  Reformed  pastors  were  engaged  as 
catechists  to  attend  to  the  religious  instruction  of  the 
children  according  to  the  denomination  to  which 
they  belonged.  Muhlenberg  himself  accepted  ap- 
pointment as  one  of  the  catechists  for  schools  at 
The  Trappe  and  other  places,  and  signed  at  least 
one  receipt  for  £15.  This  curious,  elaborate  plan 
dragged  on  for  a  few  years,  then  failed.  It  was 
just  as  well.  It  was  not  a  case  of  pure  charity. 
Politicians  and  Episcopalians  were  interested  in  it 
for  very  different  reasons,  but  the  German  Lu- 
theran Church  was  bound  to  be  the  loser  in  the  end. 

The  French  and  Indian  War  was  already  in  pro- 
gress in  1755.  "VVeiser  was  made  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  and  given  command  of  the  First  Bat- 
talion, Pennsylvania  Regiment.  His  duty  was  to 
protect  the  frontier  along  the  Blue  Mountains  from 
the  Susquehanna  to  the  Delaware.  Washington 
was  winning  fame  by  his  campaign  in  western 
Pennsylvania.  Church  and  State  were  alike  dis- 
turbed. 

Muhlenberg's  program  for  the  spring  of  1756 


YEARS   OF   TRIBULATION.  163 

was,  in  case  he  could  secure  a  supply  for  his 
pulpit,  to  make  a  general  visitation  among  the 
scattered  Lutherans  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  Sorth 
Carolina,  New  York,  and  Jersey.  It  would  have 
been  a  journey  of  hundreds  of  miles.  His  reason 
for  planning  it  was  this  :  ' '  How  can  we  give  ac- 
count to  God  for  neglect  to  sow  when  He  has 
ploughed  the  field  and  prepared  it  for  seeding?" 
Whether  it  was  Heintzelmann's  death  or  the  In- 
dian troubles  that  prevented  the  carrying  out  of 
the  plan,  we  do  not  know ;  it  remained  an  un- 
realized dream. 

He  had  an  opportunity  of  escaping  the  Penn- 
sylvania troubles  and  the  ^'continual  riding," 
when,  in  1759,  Schlatter  brought  him  a  call  from 
the  Governor  of  Nova  Scotia.  The  duties  were  to 
conduct  German  and  English  service  in  the 
churches  at  Lunenberg,  Halifax,  etc.  He  gave  it 
prayerful  consideration,  but  could  not  recognize  in 
it  the  gracious  will  of  God. 

In  1758  he  spent  the  summer  with  the  Raritan 
churches.  As  he  had  to  repeat  the  visit  next  year, 
he  took  his  wife  and  four  of  the  children  with 
him.  The  other  three  were  left  at  home  with 
William  Graaf  and  his  wife.  Peter  Muhlenberg 
was  now  old  enough  to  accompany  his  father  on 
horseback.  Samuel  was  the  baby.  Gotthilf 
Henry  Ernst,  the  future  botanist,  born  November 
17th,  1753,  and  Maria  Catharine,  born  November 
4th,  1755,  who  was  to  become  the  wife  of  Major 
Swaine,  were  with  their  parents.  It  w^as  a  total 
change  of  life  for  Muhlenberg.  He  had  to  turn 
schoolmaster  once  more.  For  recreation  he  did  a 
little  gardening  and  farming,  and  even  lent  a  hand 
in  haying  time.  He  spent  the  fall  and  winter 
there  also. 

It  suited  him  to  be  far  enough  away  from  Phila- 


154  HEXKY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

delphia  at  this  time.  After  the  death  of  his  be- 
loved Brunnholtz  in  1757,  Muhlenberg  was  called 
to  preside  at  an  election  for  pastor.  He  was  so  out- 
raged at  the  insolence  of  the  leading  elder,  who  first 
objected  to  a  salary  being  named  in  the  call,  and 
then  to  Muhlenberg's  ofhcial  connection  with  the 
congregation,  that  the  long-suffering  Patriarch  cut 
his  original  call  out  of  the  minute  book  and  threw 
it  into  the  fire.  Though  he  helped  to  arrange  the 
call  for  Handschuh,  he  would  liot  go  near  the 
congregation  for  three  years.  Thus  left  to  him- 
self, Handschuh,  with  his  sentimental,  melancholy 
nature,  floundered  on  with  his  twenty  different 
kinds  of  Germans  in  St.  Michael's,  until  all  par- 
ties were  glad  to  call  for  the  return  of  the  old  pas- 
tor to  straighten  out  the  tangle. 

Add  to  this  estrangement  the  slanders  of  Schrenk 
and  Rauss,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  these  were 
bitter  days  for  the  Patriarch.  Still  he  lost  no 
time  in  fretting.     His  solace  was  prayer  and  work. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PHILADELPHIA   LABORS   AND   FRIENDSHIPS. 

Wrangel  Arrives,  1760 — Comrades  and  Co-laborers — Synod 
Revived — Corner-stone  of  Trinit}',  Lancaster,  Laid,  1761 
— Muhlenberg's  Defense  of  his  Orthodoxy — Reappears 
in  St.  Michael's  Pulpit — The  English  Catechism — Eng- 
lish Question  Among  the  Swedes — Muhlenberg  Re- 
movesto  Philadelphia— Younger  Children— Frames  Con- 
gregational Constitution — Sends  Three  Sons  to  Halle — 
Relations  to  Other  Denominations  and  Other  Clergy- 
men — Whitfield  —  Schlatter — The  Episcopalians — Eva 
Muhlenberg  Married — Mrs.  Muhlenberg's  111  Health — 
''Autobiography"  —  Muhlenberg  Carries  a  Church 
Debt — Publishes  a  Sermon — Peter  Returns  from  Halle. 
(1760-1768.) 

And  it  came  to  pass  when  he  had  made  an  end  of  speaking  unto  Saul, 
that  the  soul  of  Jonathan  was  knit  with  the  soul  of  David,  and  Jona- 
than loved  him  as  his  own  soul. — 1  Sam.  xviii.  1, 

But  watch  thou  in  all  things,  endure  afflictions,  do  the  work  of  an 
evangelist,  make  full  proof  of  thy  ministry. — 2  Tim.  iv.  5. 

An  interesting  chapter  could  be  written  upon 
Muhlenberg's  friendships.  The  most  notable  and 
satisfying  was  that  which  existed  between  him 
and  Rev.  Charles  Magnus  Wrangel  de  Saga,  the 
new  Provost  of  the  Swedish  Lutheran  Churches 
and  pastor  of  Wicaco  Church,  Philadelphia.  It 
was  based  on  mutual  respect  for  each  other's  tal- 
ents, education,  and  spiritual  ambitions.  It  was 
a  case  of  *'love  at  first  sight."  Even  when 
Wrangel  returned  to  Sweden,  in  1768,  they  main- 
tained a  friendly  correspondence  until  the  last. 
They  met  August  24th,  1760.  Muhlenberg's 
entry  in  his  diary  was  :  ''I  was  greatly  moved 
(155) 


156  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

by  his  mild  and  humble  manners,  and  edified  b}- 
his  weighty  conversation  relative  to  the  kingdom 
of  God."  Muhlenberg  w^s  just  forty-nine.  Wran- 
gel  was  also  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  in  energy 
the  counterpart  of  ]Muhlenberg. 

He  took  a  most  affectionate  and  solicitous  in- 
terest in  the  welfare  of  the  German  Churches. 
Immediately  on  his  arrival,  he  hastened  on  to 
Providence  to  invite  Muhlenberg  to  the  yearly 
convention  of  the  Swedes  in  September.  He  him- 
self attended  every  meeting  of  the  Germans.  His 
preaching  was  fervent  and  attractive.  His  coming 
at  this  juncture  in  Muhlenberg's  career  was  provi- 
dential, and  sensibly  raised  the  Patriarch's  spirits. 

Side  b}^  side  these  two  men  of  heroic  mould  and 
comprehensive  views  labored  for  the  upbuilding 
of  the  Church  as  a  whole.  Neither  took  an  im- 
portant step  in  his  parish  or  his  general  work  with- 
out consulting  the  other.  To  Wrangel  is  due  the 
resuscitation  of  the  Synod  in  1760.  It  met  at 
Providence,  October  19th.  Gerock  preached  in 
German,  tbe  Provost  in  English.  (Query,  Where 
had  he  learned  English  enough  to  use  it  in  preach- 
ing?) That  night  the  brethren  sat  up  until  three 
in  the  morning,  edifying  one  another  with  hymns 
and  spiritual  discourse,  and  discussing  congrega- 
tional affairs.  ''Oh,  if  poor  souls,  on  this  side 
eternity,  can  find  so  much  pleasure  in  brotherly 
discourse,  what  must  it  be  in  Heaven  ?" 

William  Kurtz  was  examined  for  ordination. 
He  translated  Greek  and  Hebrew  into  Latin.  The 
Provost  was  delighted  ;  he  had  not  expected  any- 
thing like  that  in  "  Penn's  Woods."  Muhlenberg 
was  chosen  President,  and  held  the  office  eleven 
years.  He  calls  the  body  ' '  The  Annual  Preachers' 
Assembly  of  the  United  Swedish  and  German 
Ministerium. "      Twelve    pastors    and    catechists 


PHILADELPHIA    LABORS  AND    FRIENDSHIPS.    157 

were  present,  and  laymen  from  Philadelphia, 
New  York,  and  Lancaster.  This  w^as  a  more 
comprehensive  movement  than  that  of  1748. 
Scarcely  half  of  the  men  in  1760  were  Halle  men. 

At  the  meeting  held  May  17th,  1761,  at  Lan- 
caster, the  corner-stone  of  the  present  Trinity 
Church  was  laid.  Muhlenberg  preached  on  Isa. 
Ix.,  "Arise,  shine  for  thy  light  is  come,"  etc. 
Rauss  charged  ^Muhlenberg  with  false  doctrine. 
Wrangel  and  Borrell  were  appointed  arbitrators  to 
hear  the  case.  It  was  a  heresy  trial  founded  on 
pure  malice.  Muhlenberg's  defense,  still  extant, 
w'ould  fill  a  hundred  pages  of  this  size. 

It  may  be  summed  up  in  his  own  intense  w^ords  : 
' '  I  defy  Satan  and  all  the  lying  spirits  who  serve 
him  to  prove  against  me  anything  in  coniiict  with 
the  doctrine  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  and  of 
our  Symbolical  Books.  I  have  often  and  again 
said  and  written  that  I  have  found  in  our  Evan- 
gelical doctrine,  founded  on  the  apostles  and  pro- 
phets, and  set  forth  in  our  Symbohcal  Books, 
neither  error,  fault,  nor  anything  wrong."  The 
charge  fell^flat. 

In  response  to  a  general  demand  Muhlenberg 
again  appeared  in  St.  Michael's  pulpit.  This 
may  be  traced  to  the  influence  of  Wrangel  and 
to  the  perplexity  of  the  congregation.  He  preached 
on  "The  Causes  of  Christ's  Tears  Over  Jeru- 
salem," and  yet  more  pointedly  on  "The  Strife 
and  Misunderstanding  between  the  Tribes  of  Is- 
rael." The  Philadelphia  strife  called  for  many 
visits,  and  at  last  for  his  permanent  presence.  He 
again  became  the  "first"  or  chief  pastor,  and 
Handschuh  was  his  assistant. 

While  on  one  of  his  visits  in  town  he  paid  £4 
for  a  dozen  copies  of  an  English  edition  of  Luther's 
Small  Catechism,  pubhshed  by  his  friend  Wrangel. 


158  HENRY   MELCHIOB    MUHLENBERG. 

In  this  connection  we  may  recall  an  address  de- 
livered by  Muhlenberg  at  a  Swedish  Conference. 
He  lauded  Wrangel's  diligencCj  and  his  influence 
outside  of  his  own  nationality.  For  instance,  ' '  All 
those  Swedes  who  had  connected  themselves  with 
the  High  Church  at  Chester  had  returned  to  the 
Church  of  their  fathers  ;  and  a  number  of  influ- 
ential English  residents  had  declared  their  readi- 
ness to  join  the  Lutheran  congregation  in  case  a 
church  would  be  built  and  there  would  be  Eng- 
lish services  in  addition  to  the  Swedish."  To  the 
Wicaco  vestr^^'s  question,  whether  in  connection 
with  the  Swedish  language  the  Lutheran  doctrine 
could  be  advantageously  propagated  in  English, 
he  gave  an  elaborate  affirmative  reply.  Beyond 
occasional  English  sermons  there  by  these  two 
friends,  we  hear  nothing  more  of  the  matter. 
That  would  have  been  the  time  to  begin  the  Eng- 
lish Lutheran  work  in  Philadelphia.  The  delay 
may  have  been  unavoidable,  but  it  cost  the  Church 
a  century  and  the  loss  of  all  the  Swedes  and  many 
of  the  Germans.  Nothing  short  of  a  theological 
seminary  furnishing  preachers  trained  to  think 
and  preach  in  English  could  have  solved  the  diffi- 
culty, and  that  did  not  come  until  well  on  in  the 
next  century. 

Sacrificing  his  preference  for  the  country,  Muhl- 
enberg sold  his  house  at  Providence,  bought  a 
town  house  on  Vine  Street,  and,  October  29th, 
1761,  removed  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife 
and  six  children,  to  Philadelphia.  He  remained 
here  until  1776.  Here  the  last  three  children 
were  born.  There  were  eleven  children  in  all,  of 
Avhom  six  reached  maturity.  The  youngest  of 
them  was  Maria  Salome,  born  July  13th,  1766. 
She  married  Mr.   Matthias   Reichart,  Anglicized 


PHILADELPHIA    LABORS  AND    FRIEJN'DSIIIPS.     159 

as  Richards,  a  name  still  honorably  borne  in  the 
Lutheran  Church. 

The  presence  of  Wrangel  near  Philadelphia 
brightened  Muhlenberg' s  life  there.  During  those 
golden  years,  1761-8,  these  men  were  often  to- 
gether, running  into  each  other's  homes  at  all 
hours  and  remaining  late  into  the  night  or  all 
night.  Muhlenberg  still  continued  to  visit  his 
country  churches  once  in  six  weeks.  In  town  the 
work  of  pacification  was  completed,  when  ]\Iuh]- 
enberg  prepared,  and  the  congregation  adopted, 
a  new  constitution.  Dr.  Mann  says  that,  ' '  if,  in 
his  whole  life,  he  had  done  nothing  else  of  a  re- 
markable character,  the  framing  of  that  constitu- 
tion would  suffice  to  cover  his  head  with  lasting 
honor."  It  brought  order  out  of  dire  confusion, 
gave  stability  to  the  Philadelphia  work,  ancl 
served  as  a  model  for  many  other  congregational 
constitutions.  The  congregation  grew  so  rapidly 
that  the  large  school-house  had  to  be  thrown  open 
for  additional  services.  Immigration  revived 
during  this  peaceful  decade.  It  was  well  that 
Muhlenberg  was  in  personal  command  to  put  the 
right  stamp  on  things  during  this  formative  period. 

His  frequent  absences  from  home  on  official 
business  were  not  relished  by  the  people.  He 
met  their  murmurings  by  relating  the  parable  of 
the  man,  who,  also  away  from  home,  on  the  way 
to  Jericho,  fell  into  the  hands  of  thieves  first,  and 
then  into  those  of  the  Samaritan.  As  he  was  ab- 
sent not  to  seek  his  own  comfort,  but  to  do  the 
work  of  the  King,  which  required  haste,  the  point 
was  well  taken. 

A  permanent  break  now  occurred  in  Muhlen- 
berg's family.  April  27th,  1763,  after  careful  in- 
quiry at  Halle,  but  with  a  heavy  heart,  the  father 


160  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

dispatched  his  three  sons  to  Europe  to  be  trained 
nnder  the  firm  discipline  and  reHgious  spirit  of 
the  Halle  institutions.  Peter  was  fourteen,  Fred- 
erick twelve,  and  Henry  Ernst  but  nine.  They 
traveled  to  London  in  the  charge  of  Hon.  William 
Allen,  later  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania.  Zieg- 
enhagen  forwarded  them  via  Hamburg  and 
Eimbeck  to  Halle. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  Muhlen- 
berg to  Ziegenhagen  gives  a  general  outline  of  the 
eldest  son' s  character  and  shows  his  apprehension, 
afterward  realized,  that  Peter  would  prove  a 
troublesome  subject:  "  My  son  Peter  has,  alas! 
enjoyed  but  little  of  my  care  and  control,  on  ac- 
count of  my  extensive  official  duties,  but  he  has 
had  no  evil  example  from  his  parents.  His  chief 
fault  and  bad  inclination  has  been  his  fondness 
for  hunting  and  fishing.  But,  if  our  Reverend 
Fathers  at  Halle  observe  any  tendency  to  vice,  I 
would  humbly  beg  that  they  send  him  to  a  well- 
disciplined  garrison  town,  under  the  name  of 
Peter  Weiser,  before  he  causes  much  trouble  or 
complaint.  There  he  may  obey  the  drum,  if  he 
will  not  follow  the  spirit  of  God.  My  prayers 
will  follow  him,  and  if  his  soul  only  is  saved,  be 
he  in  what  condition  he  may,  I  shall  be  content. 
I  well  know  what  Satan  wishes  for  me  and  mine." 

Muhlenberg  made  friends  with  many  outside  of 
the  Lutheran  Church,  especially  with  those  who, 
like  Whitfield,  preached  a  living  Christianity, 
and  with  the  clergymen  of  the  Episcopalian 
Church.  At  the  Philadelphia  Synodical  meeting 
in  1763,  there  were  quite  a  number  of  English 
clergymen  present,  as  the  two  Tennents  (Presby- 
terians), Revs.  Messrs.  Duchee  and  Peters,  of  the 
"High  Church"  (Episcopalians),  and  the  cele- 
brated Evangelist,  Whitfield.      Doubtless  Wran- 


PHILADELPHIA    LABOPvS  AND    FRIENDSHIPS.     161 

gel  was  largely  responsible  for  this.  While  these 
men  were  not  made  advisory  members  of  the 
Synod,  they  were  asked  for  a  word  of  encourage- 
ment. The  elder  Tennent  presided  at  the  noon 
repast,  "and  refreshed  us  with  edifying  dis- 
course." Whitfield  was  invited  to  address  the 
school  children  from  the  pulpit  the  next  day.  In 
1770  he  was,  though  reluctantly,  asked  by  Muhl- 
enberg to  hold  an  English  evening  service  in  the 
new  Zion  Church.  He  admired  Whitfield's  fervor 
and  remembered  the  collections  he  made  in  Eu- 
rope for  the  impoverished  Salzburgers,  but  he 
dissented  from  Whitfield's  low  views  of  the  grace 
of  baptism.  Neither  Muhlenberg  nor  Wrangel 
imitated  his  extravagances  or  substituted  emotion- 
alism for  faith.  Any  additional  devotional  meet- 
ings that  Muhlenberg  may  have  held  were  con- 
ducted b)^  himself  or  some  other  minister.  The 
solid  chorals  of  the  Church  were  used,  and  an  ex- 
planation of  some  passage  from  the  Word  of  God 
formed  the  basis  of  the  prayers. 

He  was  frequently  visited  by  persons,  not  of 
his  own  congregation,  for  spiritual  counsel.  One 
evening  he  had  a  scholarly  visitor  from  New 
England,  a  pious  man,  too,  who  desired  him  to 
explain  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  in  conclusion  requested  him  to  read 
some  Greek  and  Latin,  that  he  might  know  how 
the  Germans  pronounced  these  languages. 

Muhlenberg's  relation  to  the  Episcopalians  was 
peculiar.  It  must  be  understood  in  the  light  of 
the  German  Court  Chapel  at  London.  He  recog- 
nized the  Episcopalian  Church  as  an  Established 
Church,  having  Articles  of  Faith  and  a  Liturgy 
of  a  Lutheranizing  character.  He  occasionally 
filled  vacant  Episcopalian  pulpits,  as  the  Swedes 
had  done  before  him.  In  a  letter  to  Nova  Scotia, 
11 


162  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

in  1771,  he  says  :  ''  Our  nearest  and  best  friends 
are  the  upright  teachers  and  members  of  the  Es- 
tabhshed  Church.  They  love  and  stand  by  us 
wherever  they  can,  and  we  do  for  them  whatever 
lies  in  our  power.  They  favor  us  and  give  us 
perfect  liberty,  according  to  the  Word  of  God, 
both  to  teach  and  to  live  according  to  the  articles 
of  our  faith.  We  accord  to  them,  cheerfully,  the 
preference,  because  they  have  the  Mother-Church, 
which  is  established  by  law." 

His  most  extreme  acts  took  place  at  the  time 
when  Zion  Church  was  dedicated,  in  1760.  As 
an  act  of  courtesy  toward  the  community-at-large, 
which  was  much  interested  in  this  imposing  edi- 
fice. Dr.  Peters,  a  clergyman  of  the  Episcopalian 
Church,  was  asked  to  conduct  a  service  in  the 
evening.  The  Governor  and  the  professors  in  the 
Academy  were  present  as  invited  guests.  This 
was  in  recognition  of  the  free  use  for  three  years 
of  the  Academy  chapel. 

During  that  same  year  Muhlenberg  accepted  a 
trusteeship  in  the  "Society  for  the  Relief  of 
Widows  and  Children  of  Episcopal  Clergymen." 

Doubtless  these  things  awakened  some  thoughts 
in  Episcopalian  breasts  which  did  not  exist  in 
Muhlenberg's,  and  doubtless,  too,  they  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  the  state  of  mind  which  after- 
ward led  German  Lutherans  into  the  Episcopal 
Church,  his  own  grandson,  William  Augustus, 
among  them,  for  propinquity  is  often  a  basis  for 
love ;  but  we  have  no  evidence  that,  even  in  the 
darkest  hours,  Muhlenberg  thought  of  a  union 
between  the  two  denominations.  He  could,  in 
1774,  write  to  a  Charleston  Lutheran  who  thought 
of  leaving  his  church  :  "During  the  thirty-two 
years  of  my  sojourning  in  America,  time  and 
again  occasions  were  given  me  to  join  the  Episco- 


PHILADELPHIA    LABORS  AND    FRIENDSHIPS.     163 

pal  Church,  and  to  receive  four  or  five  times  more 
salary  than  my  poor  German  fellow-members  of 
the  Lutheran  faith  gave  me  ;  but  I  preferred  re- 
proach in  and  with  my  people  to  the  treasures  of 
'Egypt.'  I  remember,"  he  continues,  "that 
many  years  ago  a  proud  German  tailor  left  our 
Church  and  joined  the  Episcopalians,  giving  as 
his  reason  that  he  had  few  customers  among  the 
Germans — many  among  the  English.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  captain  of  high  standing,  who  had 
studied  German,  joined  our  Church,  telling  me 
that  he  sat  with  more  pleasure  on  the  rough 
benches,  with  the  poor  God-fearing  German  Lu- 
therans, than  on  those  high  seats  where  all  glittered 
with  gold,  silver,  and  the  like.'' 

Least  of  all  did  Muhlenberg  entertain  any  high- 
church  notions.  At  a  time  of  great  confusion, 
when  the  Revolutionary  War  had  orphaned  the 
American  Episcopalian  Church  by  cutting  it  off 
from  the  Bishops  in  England,  Muhlenberg  con- 
sented to  examine  a  Mr.  John  Wade  for  the 
Episcopalian  ministry.  As  to  his  ordination,  he 
thought  it  could  be  obtained  by  "  a  regular  united 
Protestant  ministry  nearest  related  to  your  Episco- 
pal Church" — his  own  S}' nod.  "For  why,"  said  he, 
"  should  congregations  be  neglected  and  destroyed 
only  for  want  of  an  Episcopal  ordination  ?  which 
is  but  a  piece  of  pious  ceremony,  a  form  of  godli- 
ness, empty  of  power,  and  may  be  of  service, 
when  it  is  established  by  law,  though  it  does  not 
appertain  to  the  essential  parts  of  the  holy  function 
[or  ministry]  itself." 

His  relation  to  Schlatter  and  the  Reformed  may 
be  seen  from  an  incident  occurring  at  Barren  Hill, 
some  miles  north  of  Germantown.  After  Muhlen- 
berg's  sermon  Schlatter  delivered  a  communion 
address,  and  then  the  Reformed  withdrew  to  the 


164  HENRY    :\rKLCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

schocl-house  to  receive  the  communion  at  their 
own  pastor's  hands.  While,  in  these  primitive 
days,  the  tv/o  denominations  at  times  used  each 
other's  churches,  Muhlenberg  did  not  build  union 
churches,  nor  did  he  practice  altar  fellowship. 
Not  even  the  members  of  his  own  congregation 
were  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Su]3per  without  a 
personal  conference  with  the  pastor  at  the  parson- 
age or  the  church.  This  was  a  very  arduous  task, 
but  Muhlenberg  observed  the  custom,  as  well  on 
his  visitations  as  at  home. 

On  this  delicate  question  Dr.  Jacobs  remarks  : 
''Never  hesitating  to  enter  the  pulpits  of  other 
denominations,  when  there  was  no  warfare  against 
or  antagonism  to  his  own  Church,  or  denial  of  its 
truly  Scriptural  character,  he  was  faithful  at  the 
same  time  in  preaching,  maintaining,  and  defend- 
ing the  Word  of  God  as  taught  in  the  Lutheran 
Confessions."  And  again,  speaking  of  Muhlen- 
berg' s  co-laborers  as  well,  he  says  :  ' '  The  perfect 
naturalness  and  frank  sincerity  of  their  Lutheran 
convictions  made  ihem  indifferent  to  inferences 
from  their  conduct,  concerning  which  others  would 
have  been  more  painfull}^  exact,  whose  regard  for 
the  reputation  of  maintaining,  might  sometimes 
exceed  their  regard  for  the  real  possession  of  the 
Lutheran  faith.  They  were  not,  on  the  one  hand, 
men  of  such  broad  liberalitv  as  to  ignore  the  ex- 
istence of  ecclesiastical  distinctions  ;  their  pulpits 
were  occupied  only  by  ministers  authorized  and 
indorsed  by  the  pastors  of  the  United  Congrega- 
tions  But,  on  the  other  hand,  they 

were  not  only  courteous,  but  cordial,  and  some- 
times even  intimate  with  many  Christians  outside 
of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Their  very  fidelity  to 
the  Lutheran  faith  rendered  them  glad  to  recog- 


PHILADELPHIA    LABORS  AND    FRIENDSHIPS.    165 

nize  the  most  vital  and  important  elements  in  tliat 
faith  wherever  found. ' ' 

Muhlenberg  was  fond  of  children  to  the  last. 
He  attended  a  parish  school  examination  at  King- 
sessing,  West  Philadelphia,  in  1763.  "I  told  the 
children  that  I  was  pleased  with  their  diligence 
and  was  willing  to  send  them  something,  either  a 
cake  or  a  booklet,  for  each  one  ;  they  should  tell 
me  which  they  preferred.  One  answered  that 
a  book  lasted  longer  and  was  more  useful,  to 
which  the  rest  agreed ;  I  am,  consequently,  a 
debtor." 

1763-4  were  years  of  tribulation  once  more. 
With  a  sick  colleague — Handschuh  died  in  the 
fall  of  1764 — Muhlenberg's  labors  can  be  con- 
ceived from  these  statistics  :  Infant  baptisms,  330  ; 
funerals,  129.  There  were  700  heads  of  families 
in  the  congregation.  Germantown  and  Reading 
caused  him  many  journeys.  But  with  the  new 
arrivals,  Krug  at  Reading  and  Voigt,  at  Ger- 
mantown, and  Christopher  Emanuel  Schultze  as 
his  assistant  in  St.  Michael's,  all  went  well  again. 
In  1766  Schultze  became  his  son-in-law,  marrying 
his  oldest  daughter,  Eva,  then  only  eighteen. 
This  was  the  first  wedding  in  the  family.  After 
a  few  happy  3"ears  in  Philadelphia  the  couple  re- 
moved to  Tulpehocken.  But  sorrow  came,  too. 
Muhlenberg's  wife,  from  this  time  on,  was  subject 
to  hysterical  paroxysms. 

At  his  wife' s  suggestion  Muhlenberg  set  to  work 
on  his  Autobiography,  which,  however,  never  got 
beyond  his  arrival  in  Philadelphia. 

Mrs.  Muhlenberg  knew  when  to  exercise  the 
veto  power.  Her  husband.  Dr.  Wrangel,  and 
Henry  Keppele,  of  St.  Michael's,  Philadelphia, 
were  carrying  the  debt  of  the  Barren  Hill  Church 


166  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

among  them.  All  parties  were  financially  strait- 
ened, for  Wrangel  was  building  churches  of  his 
own  and  Keppele  was  burdened  with  the  very  ex- 
pensive Zion  Church.  Muhlenberg  proposed  to 
use  some  of  his  wife's  patrimony  to  relieve  him- 
self at  Barren  Hill.  As  £300  had  already  been 
consumed  by  family  expenses,  Mrs.  Muhlenberg 
emphatically  said  ' '  No. ' ' 

For  two  years  more  the  Patriarch,  now  ap- 
proaching sixty  years  of  age,  struggled  on  under 
this  debt,  and  then  the  Lord  sent  wonderful  rehef. 
First  came  £90  worth  of  Halle  medicines,  then 
a  draft  of  £100  from  Ziegenhagen,  and,  finally, 
£284  from  a  godly  German  Count,  Roedelsheim. 
Out  of  these  funds  Muhlenberg  and  his  family 
were  entirely  relieved. 

Before  narrating  his  generosity  toward  The 
Trappe  Church,  we  mention  that  September  9th, 
1763,  when  on  a  visit  to  that  church,  he  baptized 
the  child  of  John  Billing,  one  of  the  three  negroes 
whom  he  had  baptized  nearly  twenty  years  before. 
In  November  the  question  of  the  £40  sterling 
annually,  which  had  not  been  paid  during  any  of 
the  nineteen  j^ears  he  served  them,  came  up  for 
discussion.  They  were  much  distressed.  "To- 
morrow, so  please  God,  I  will  untie  this  hard  knot 
for  you."  To-morrow  he  publicly  and  generously 
forgave  them  all  that  debt,  and  at  the  same  time 
publicly  and  earnestly  reminded  them  of  their 
duty  to  abide  by  the  unaltered  Augsburg  Confes- 
sion to  the  latest  generation. 

Muhlenberg  committed  nothing  to  the  press  but 
one  sermon,  with  this  self-explanatory  title  :  ''A 
Testimony  of  the  Goodness  and  Zeal  of  God  To- 
ward His  Covenant  People  in  the  Old  and  New 
Times,  and  of  the  Ingratitude  of  His  People 
Toward  Him,  Given  at  the  Occasion  of  the  Thanks- 


PHILADELPHIA  LABORS  AND  FRIENDSHIPS.  167 

giving  in  Consequence  of  the  Repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act,  August  1st,  1766.  By  the  Rev.  H.  Muhlen- 
berg.    Philadelphia  :  H.  Miller. ' ' 

He  kept  free  from  party  alliances.  His  diaries 
have  hardly  a  political  reference.  His  only  re- 
corded vote  was  given  during  the  Indian  excite- 
ment, and  was  cast  for  his  friend  Keppele,  a  can- 
didate of  the  war  party.  The  patriotism  of  his 
sons,  Peter  and  Frederick,  and  the  father's  pro- 
nounced admiration  for  Washington  are  a  sufficient 
guarantee  of  his  own  patriotism. 

When  Peter  was  a  lad  of  fourteen  his  father 
noted  that  ' '  he  does  not  care  much  for  female  so- 
ciety, but  is  bent  on  fishing  and  hunting."  At 
Halle  he  was  very  restless,  and  finally  ran  off  with 
a  military  company.  A  British  colonel,  whom 
his  father  had  once  entertained,  happening  to  pass 
through  Hanover,  recognized  Peter,  secured  his 
discharge,  and  took  him  along  with  him  to  Amer- 
ica. On  Peter's  return,  in  1766,  Wrangel  came 
to  the  father's  aid,  and  took  him  into  his  house, 
as  the  first  student  in  a  sort  of  private  theological 
school.  Thus  he  was  led  to  a  more  spiritual  life, 
and  when,  to  the  father's  great  distress,  Wrangel 
was  recalled,  in  1768,  Peter's  face  was  decidedly 
set  toward  the  Gospel  ministry. 

The  Synod,  after  slumbering  several  years, 
again  convened,  in  1768,  for  the  dedication  of  the 
church  at  New  Hanover,  Rev.  Lewis  Voigt,  pastor. 
The  President  preached  the  sermon.  Text,  1 
Kings  viii.  37-39.  Theme,  '' A  Divinely-approved 
Means  to  Rescue  and  Save  from  Destruction  a 
Sinful  People  and  Land." 


CHAPTER  V. 


Muhlenberg's  International  Reputation — Zion,  Phila- 
delphia, America's  Largest  Church — Dedication,  1769 — 
A  Stilted  Address — Helmuth  and  Schmidt — Kunze,  the 
Scholar — Frederick  and  Henry  Ernst  Muhlenberg — 
Peter  Called  to  Virginia — A  Few  Happy  Years — Trip  to 
Georgia — Saves  Charleston  Church — Arbitrates  Dispute 
at  Ebenezer — Backbiting  in  Pennsylvania — Peter  Dons 
a  Colonel's  Uniform — In  1776  Muhlenberg  Moves  to 
Providence — "  Pise  Desideri^e  " — Review  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Pastorate.     (1769-1776.) 

Therefore,  my  brethren,  dearly  beloved  and  longed  for,  my  joy  and 
crown,  so  stand  fast  in  the  Lord,  my  dearly  beloved.— Phil.  iv.  1. 

I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the 
faith.— 2  Tim.  iv.  7. 

The  second  half  of  Muhlenberg's  Philadelphia 
pastorate  was  a  fitting  crown  of  his  arduous  mis- 
sionary career.  He  had  a  secure  position  in  the 
two  foremost  cities  and  colonies  of  America.  As 
far  as  such  a  thing  was  possible  for  a  man  who 
lived  apart  from  war  and  politics,  he  had  a  na- 
tional and  even  an  international  reputation.  Ger- 
many and  Sweden  and  the  Lutherans  of  London 
knew  of  Muhlenberg.  Wherever  the  fame  of  the 
Halle  Orphans'  Home  carried  the  ' '  Halle  Re- 
ports," which  was  even  to  the  mission  fields  of 
India,  the  name  of  Muhlenberg  went. 

At  home,  as  Quaker  and  Episcopalian,  mer- 
chant and  assemblyman  passed  up  and  down 
Arch  Street  or  glanced  across  the  two-story  m.an- 
sions  of  that  da  v.  and  saw  the  rising  walls  of  the 
(168) 


169 

new  ^ '  Zion, ' '  they  were  reminded  of  that,  devout 
German  parson  whom  the  Germans  regarded  as 
then'  spiritual  guide. 

The  German  immigrant  now  found  himself 
preacher  in  the  largest  and  finest  house  of  worship 
in  all  America.  Zion  Church  was  seventy  feet 
wide  and  one  hundred  and  eight  feet  long.  It 
stood  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Fourth  and  Cherry 
Streets,  opposite  the  school-house.  The  corner- 
stone was  laid  June  11th,  1766.  The  dedication 
took  place  June  25th,  1769,  the  anniversary  of  the 
Augsburg  Confession.  The  church  stood  exactly 
a  century,  a  monument  to  Muhlenberg's  powerful 
influence. 

Muhlenberg's  diary  tells  the  story  of  the  dedi- 
cation daj'.  On  Saturday  ' '  evening,  at  ten,  the  par- 
sonage was  vacated  by  strangers,  and  I  wrote,  med- 
itated, and  prayed  until  half -past  three. "  ' '  Mb. , 
Sen.,  preached  the  first  sermon  in  Zion.  The 
text  was  Isa.  xliii.  1-6.  He  had  the  sermon  writ- 
ten, was  weak  and  distressed  in  body  and  sor- 
rowful in  spirit,  sore  and  oppressed  in  his  chest, 
felt  the  strong  vapor  of  the  fresh  plaster  and  paint 
in  the  church,  and  the  news  was  whispered  into  his 
ear  just  w^hen  he  entered  the  pulpit  that  his  Httle 
grandchild,  Mr.  Schultze's  daughter,  had  died. 

"  On  account  of  his  weakness,  the  crowded 
room,  the  intolerable  heat,  etc.,  he  omitted  the 
explanation  or  paraphrase  of  the  text  and  treated 
of  only  two  doctrines  in  it :  1.  That  God,  the 
Lord,  would  preserve  His  kingdom  of  grace  in 
this  world  amid  all  hostile  attacks,  sorrows,  and 
persecutions,  until  the  end  of  days.  2.  And  in 
these  last  days  greatly  increase  and  glorify  it." 
As  the  result  of  this  overexertion,  he  was  sick  abed 
in  the  afternoon. 

On   Monday,  the  Governor,  the  High  Church 


170  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

clergy  in  their  vestments,  the  Doctors  of  Theology, 
the  Professors  of  Philosophy  and  Medicine,  and 
other  graduates  of  the  University,  in  festive  garb, 
several  military  officers,  etc. ,  etc. ,  marched  in  pro- 
cession to  this  German  Lutheran  Church  to  hold 
an  English  service.  Rev.  Mr.  Peters  preaching. 

In  conclusion,  Muhlenberg  addressed  ''The 
Honorable,  Reverend,  and  Worshipful  Conven- 
tion," in  language  sufficiently  exalted  to  suit  their 
excellencies  :  ' '  What  a  glorious  lustre  doth  it 
spread  and  reflect  upon  State  and  Religion,  when, 
in  an  infant  Christian  Republic,  framed  in  a  re- 
mote part  of  the  transient  world,  the  excellent 
Rulers  and  Patriots  of  the  State,  the  Catholic- 
spirited  Ambassadors  for  Christ,  the  eminently 
learned  Faculties  of  the  College  ....  when 
all  these  condescend  to  comply  with  an  humble 
invitation  of  their  inferiors,"  etc.,  etc.  That 
speech  ought  to  have  brought  a  larger  collection 
than  £16.  Their  "inferiors"  had  contributed 
£200  on  dedication  day. 

Two  of  those  present  had  lately  come  over  from 
Germany — Helmuth  and  Schmidt.  When  Hel- 
muth  preached  in  St.  Michael's  the  people  said  : 
' '  This  youth  must  stay  in  Philadelphia.  The  old 
man  must  be  pleased  with  an  easier  position  ! ' ' 
Schmidt  was  called  to  Germantown,  Helmuth  to 
Lancaster.  The  latter  was  one  of  the  most  popu- 
lar and  eloquent  of  our  clergy.  After  the  ' '  old 
man"  had  retired,  Helmuth,  in  1779,  filled  Zion 
pulpit. 

Instead  of  Helmuth  a  still  stronger  man  was 
sent  by  the  Lord  to  help  the  "old  man."  It  was 
Rev.  John  Christopher  Kunze,  "  the  most  gifted 
and  scholarly"  of  the  German  clergy.  He  mar- 
ried Muhlenberg's  daughter,  Margaretta  Hen- 
rietta.    He  filled  the  chair  of  Oriental  Languages 


**THE    END   CROWNS    THE   WORK."  171 

in  the  College,  and,  in  1784,  accepted  a  call  to 
The  United  German  Lutheran  Churches  of  New 
York,  with  a  professorship  in  King's  College,  now 
Columbia  University.  He  was  the  first  Lutheran 
pastor  to  make  stated  provision  for  English  services, 
in  which  he  reflected  his  father-in-law's  spirit. 

With  him  returned  to  America  the  two  young 
Muhlenbergs.  They  had  been  absent  seven  long 
years,  of  which  the  last  two  were  spent  in  the 
University  of  Halle,  so  that  they  were  well  quali- 
fied to  carry  on  their  father's  work.  They  were 
scholarly  and  musical,  but,  whereas,  Frederick 
was  ambitious  and  drifted  into  politics,  Henry 
Ernst  was  quiet  and  studious,  and  clung  to  the 
sacred  office.  Frederick  was  ordained  and  became 
assistant  to  his  brother-in-law,  Schultze,  at  Tulpe- 
hocken.  When  he  had  gained  experience  he  be- 
came pastor  of  Christ  Church,  New  York,  in  1773. 
He  founded  the  New  York  Ministerium. 

Henry  Ernst  was  still  a  mere  stripling  of  seven- 
teen when  he  began  to  assist  his  father,  and  not 
twenty-one  when,  in  1774,  he  was  made  third  pas- 
tor with  Muhlenberg  and  Kunze. 

Peter  was  meanwhile  doing  good  service  in  the 
Raritan  Churches,  since  1768.  A  call  came  from 
the  congregation  at  Woodstock,  Va.  Owing  to 
the  peculiar  laws  of  that  colony,  he  could  not  be 
recognized  as  a  minister  and  draw  his  salary  with- 
out Episcopal  ordination.  This  he  obtained  from 
the  Bishop  of  London  in  1772,  involving  a  journey 
to  England.  Nevertheless  he  was  not  regarded  as 
having  repudiated  his  Lutheranism.  That  is  the 
faith  which  he  preached  in  Virginia,  and  in  which 
he  lived  and  died. 

Ecclesiastical  matters  were  never  in  so  comfort- 
able a  condition  in  Muhlenberg's  career  as  in 
1774,  when  good  men  and  true  were  distributed 


172  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

throughout  the  field,  many  being  of  the  Patriarch's 
own  family.  But  Muhlenberg  was  aging  fast.  ' '  His 
last  molar  was  gone. ' '     His  race  was  almost  run. 

Then  came  Urlsperger' s  commission  and  the 
Fathers'  request  to  him  to  proceed  to  Ebenezer 
and  adjust  certain  difficulties  that  had  arisen  be- 
tween the  pastors  there,  chiefly  through  the  blun- 
der of  the  European  authorities  in  placing  an  im- 
perious and  irascible  young  man  over  an  experi- 
enced and  mild  older  pastor. 

Muhlenberg  accepted  the  commission,  j^artly  as 
a  matter  of  unpleasant  duty,  partly  hoping  that  a 
sea  voyage  would  benefit  his  wife's  health.  Little 
Salome  went  along  to  wait  on  her  mamma.  Satur- 
day, August  27th,  provided  with  a  passport  and 
safe-conduct  from  Governor  John  Penn,  he  em- 
barked. The  ' '  old-fashioned,  unattractive  Ger- 
man parson,"  as  he  described  himself,  was  able  to 
persuade  his  fellow-cabin  passengers  to  give  up 
SAvearing  on  board  ship.  They  were  twelve  days  on 
the  ocean,  and  seven  weeks  in  Charleston.  Muh- 
lenberg's presence  saved  the  congregation  there 
from  destruction.  His  handling  of  the  Ebenezer 
matter  was  judicious.  He  insisted  upon  a  pre- 
liminary private  interview  with  the  pastors,  the 
reduction  of  all  charges  to  writing,  and  the  placing 
of  the  witnesses  under  oath.  After  a  month's  in- 
vestigation of  documents,  he  established  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  whole  settlement  the  integrity 
of  Rabenhorst,  the  older  man,  and  the  vanity  and 
untruthfulness  of  his  accuser.  He  unearthed  a 
flaw  in  the  title  to  their  property.  It  read  ' '  for 
the  use  of  ministers  exercising  divine  service, 
according  to  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church 
of  England,"  instead  of  "  the  Church  of  the  Augs- 
burg Confession."  He  secured  a  legal  change  in 
the  document  at  Savannah,  and  thus  made  it  im- 


173 

possible  for  the  Governor  to  step  in  and  end  the 
dispute  by  seizing  the  property.  He  also  required 
all  parties  holding  and  handling  the  properties  to 
give  legal  bonds  showing  that  they  held  them  "  in 
trust, ' '  etc.  Finally  he  secured  the  adoption  of  a 
church  constitution. 

Muhlenberg  observed  little  improvement  in 
Ebenezer  in  a  third  of  a  century,  save  that  the 
colony  now  supported  four  churches.  That  he 
preached  many  an  edifying  sermon  from  those 
pulpits  is  understood. 

For  an  old,  worn-out  man  like  Muhlenberg, 
suffering  from  asthma  and  other  ailments,  the 
anxiety,  physical  hardships,  and  mental  labor  in- 
volved in  this  business  were  a  great  burden.  This 
was  anything  but  a  vacation  trip.  He  reached 
home  March  6th,  1775,  without  incident  or  acci- 
dent, until  overtaken  by  a  storm  outside  the  Dela- 
ware capes.  "I  must  confess,"  he  writes,  ''that 
I  secretly  sighed  :  '  0  Lord  !  suffer  the  tree  to  re- 
main this  year  also,  and  dig  anew  around  it  and 
fertilize  it.  Cast  my  sins,  and  not  me  and  the 
ship's  company,  into  the  depths  of  the  ocean  !  I 
know  not  what  and  how  I  shall  pray.  0  let  Thy 
Spirit  itself  make  intercession  for  me  Avith  groan- 
ings  that  cannot  be  uttered.'  " 

He  was  again  made  the  target  of  abuse.  Scan- 
dalous reports  emanated  from  Reading  :  ' '  The 
King  had  turned  papist,  and  Muhlenberg  w^as  called 
to  read  mass  !  "  "  Muhlenberg  ran  away  to  escape 
hanging,  and  was  punished  by  God  with  being 
shipwrecked."  This,  against  the  eminent  and 
venerable  head  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America, 
after  a  third  of  a  century's  service  in  the  cause  of 
God  and  man  !  His  presence  in  Reading  in  May 
set  all  this  at  rest,  yet  many  seriously  asked  him 
if  it  was  true  that  he  had  been  tarred  and  feath- 


174  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

ered  in  Philadelphia  and  drummed  out  of  the 
city  ! 

''  In  consideration  of  the  war-like  times,"  Muh- 
lenberg preached  on  1  Kings  viii.  37-39  at  the 
dedication  of  the  Pikestown  Church.  Muhlen- 
berg's strength  was  fast  failing.  Philadelphia  was 
too  stirring  a  place  for  him  during  war  times.  He 
longed  to  exchange  the  bustle  of  the  capital  for  the 
quiet  of  the  country.  The  military  spirit  seized  one 
of  his  own  sons.  Peter  Muhlenberg,  at  the  solici- 
tation of  his  friends,  Washington  and  Patrick 
Henry,  accepted  a  commission  as  colonel.  Then 
took  place  that  historic  scene  in  which  he  is  often 
erroneously  described  as  an  "  Episcopalian  "  min- 
ister. He  preached  his  farewell  sermon  to  a 
crowded  house.  After  eloquently  setting  forth  his 
country's  wrongs,  he  said,  ''In  the  language  of 
Holy  Writ,  there  is  a  time  for  all  things,  a  time 
to  preach  and  a  time  to  a  pray,  but  there  is  also 
a  time  to  fight,  and  that  time  has  now  come." 
He  pronounced  the  benediction,  laid  aside  his 
gown,  and  stood  before  them  in  a  colonel's  uni- 
form. Then,  ordering  the  drums  to  beat  at  the 
church  door,  he  enlisted  three  hundred  men  of  his 
congregation  as  members  of  the  Eighth  (or  Ger- 
man) Regiment  of  the  Virginia  Line. 

March  18th,  1776,  the  Patriarch  moved  for  the 
last  time  during  his  earthly  pilgrimage.  He  had 
bought  a  roomy  two-story  house  and  a  seven-acre 
plot  at  Providence,  and  planted  an  orchard  for 
posterity.  This  purchase  was  made  possible  by 
the  transfer  of  £200  of  the  Roedelsheim  lagacy  by 
the  Philadelphia  vestry,  the  loan  of  £100  without 
interest  by  Mr,  Schaeffer,  of  Philadelphia,  Frede- 
rick Muhlenberg's  father-in-law,  and  the  £160,  still 
remaining,  out  of  Mrs.  Muhlenberg's  patrimony. 

For  several  years  ''Rector"  Muhlenberg  had 


175 

been  supported  out  of  the  interest  of  the  Roedels- 
heim  legacy,  bestowed  on  him  by  the  Fathers  in 
recognition  of  his  extraordinary  service.  He  was 
thus  made  measurably  independent  of  the  whims 
of  ungrateful  and  narrow-minded  vestrymen.  The 
Philadelphia  vestry  also  settled  on  him  an  annuity 
of  £50,  and  henceforth  regarded  him  as  an  assist- 
ant pastor. 

With  the  War  those  ''piae  desideri®"  (pious 
desires)  of  the  Patriarch — a  theological  seminary, 
and  the  projected  orphans'  home,  and  asjdum  for 
aged  and  infirm  ministers  and  school-teachers  and 
their  widows — came  to  an  end.  Kunze  brought  the 
former,  Muhlenberg  the  latter  subject  before  the 
Synod  in  1773.  The  home  was  never  undertaken. 
The  seminary  project  got  no  further  than  the  first 
pubhc  (preliminary)  examination  of  thirteen 
seminary  students. 

Muhlenberg's  public  work  was  finished.  His 
failing  strength  and  the  distractions  of  the  Revolu- 
tion forbade  any  more  large  enterprises.  During 
the  fifteen  years  of  his  Philadelphia  pastorate  he 
gave  the  congregation  a  stable  constitution,  built  a 
large  church,  and  placed  safe  men  at  the  head  of 
affairs  both  inside  and  outside  of  the  city.  It  was 
fitting  that  his  labors  should  be  crowned  with 
that  successful  visit  to  Georgia  as  a  peacemaker. 


"  Blest  are  the  pure  in  heart, 
For  they  shall  see  our  God  ; 
The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  theirs, 
Their  soul  is  Christ's  abode." 


IV -IN  RETIREMENT.    1776-1787, 

CHAPTER  I. 

DURING   THE    WAR    OF    1776. 

In  Philadelphia,  July  4th,  1776 — Infirniities  at  67 — Occa- 
sional Pastoral  AVork — AVar's  Alarms — Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Muhlenburg — Soldiers  and  Fugitives  at  The 
Trappe — Brandywine  and  Valley  Forge — The  Patri- 
arch's Wrath  Against  an  Infidel  Scribbler — Philadel- 
phia Vestry's  Second  Blunder— The  "Old  Man" 
Defends  His  Honor — Made  Emeritus  Pastor — American 
Church  Independent,  1779 — An  American  Hymn- 
book — A  Common  Service  Suggested — Last  Appearance 
in  Zion's  Pulpit.     (1776-17820 

For  when  we  were  come  into  Macedonia,  our  flesh  had  no  rest,  but 
we  were  troubled  on  every  side  ;  without  were  fightings,  within  were 
fears.— 2  Cor.  vii.  5. 

Be  merciful  unto  me,  O  God,  be  merciful  unto  me:  for  my  soul 
trusteth  in  thee  :  yea,  in  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings  will  I  make  my 
refuge  until  these  calamities  be  overpast.— Ps.  Ivii.  1. 

The  Patriarch  outlived  the  Revolutionary  War, 
and  saw  some  of  its  depressing  effects  on  the 
manners  and  morals  of  the  land.  It  may  be 
asked,  Where  was  Muhlenberg  on  the  glorious 
Fourth  of  July,  1776  ?  Statements  made  in  letters 
prove  that  he  was  in  Philadelphia  at  the  time,  as 
was  also  his  son  Frederick.  In  a  letter  to  Ziegen- 
hagen,  October  31st,  1778,  Muhlenberg,  who  was 
now  in  his  sixtj^-eighth  year,  describes  his  condi- 
tion thus  :  "Concerning  myself,  the  supernumer- 
ary, or  'fifth  wheel  of  a  wagon,'  it  may  be  said 
that  I  daily  and  hourly  expect  the  call  to  eternity. 
(176) 


DURING   THE   WAR   OF    1776.  177 

Last  winter,  1777-8,  I  was  obliged  to  stay  up 
many  a  night,  and,  in  consequence  of  having 
taken  cold,  was  troubled  with  neuralgia  of  the 
head  ;  the  military  salutes  at  a  funeral  in  Phila- 
delphia, July  28th,  last,  nearly  destroyed  the 
rest  of  my  hearing,  so  that  since  that  time  I  have 
suffered  continually  with  giddiness  and  ringing  in 
the  ears,  as  if  I  were  in  a  mill  or  alongside  of  a 
cataract.  I  can  occasionally  preach,  but  am 
unable  to  hold  public  catechisation,  because  of  the 
loss  of  my  hearing."  He  occasionally  preached 
for  Pastor  Voigt,  at  Providence,  and  for  a  time 
had  charge  of  New  Hanover.  He  might  even  be 
found  at  the  organ  when  Voigt  preached,  a  mark 
of  his  humility  and  of  his  affection  for  the  house 
of  the  Lord.  Voigt  removed  to  Chester  County, 
but  the  vacant  pulpit  was  filled  by  Frederick  and 
Henry  Muhlenberg,  who  were  driven  from  their 
posts  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia  by  the  pres- 
ence of  the  British.  Henry  made  his  escape  from 
Philadelphia,  disguised  as  an  Indian,  in  a  blanket, 
with  a  rifle  on  his  shoulder. 

''The  years  1777  and  1778,"  says  Helmuth, 
' '  were  two  sad  years  for  Muhlenberg.  The  theatre 
of  war  was  transferred  to  Pennsylvania,  and  his 
house  was  continually  filled  with  fugitives, 
friends  and  strangers,  the  poor,  the  hungry,  the 
sick,  the  wounded,  rich  and  poor.  The  hungry 
never  went  away  an  hungered  or  the  suffering  un- 
consoled.  There  was  no  lack  of  danger  and  loss. 
He  suffered  frequently  from  the  American  troops 
as  they  passed  by,  and  frequently  the  enemy  drew 
near  his  home  and  threatened  him.  He  was 
warned  on  all  hands  to  withdraw  further  into^  the 
country,  because  the  British  and  the  Hessians 
were  making  daily  threats.  But  he  was  immov- 
able. In  humble  prayer  he  cast  himseK  under 
12 


178  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

the  gracious  protection  of  the  Most  High,  and 
his  God  wonderfully  protected  him  in  all  his 
danger. ' ' 

No  wonder  that  he  was  in  danger  :  he  was  the 
father  of  one  of  the  keenest  fighters  in  the  army. 
Colonel  Muhlenberg,  after  taking  part  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1776,  in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina, 
was  called  north,  and,  February,  1777,  was  made 
Brigadier-General.     It  was  now 

"  Strike  for  your  altars  and  your  fires." 

September  11th,  1777,  the  father  records  in  his 
diary  :  ' '  This  morning  we  heard  hard  and  long- 
continued  cannonading,  which  seemed  to  be  about 
thirty  miles  off,  toward  the  Brandy  wine."  Gen- 
eral Muhlenberg  was  in  the  thick  of  that  fight. 
As  he  charged  upon  his  own  former  regiment  the 
Hessians  cried  out,  "Here  comes  Devil  Pete." 
Every  hour  of  the  next  month  was  filled  with 
anxiety.  ''Sunday,  September  14th.  A  restless 
Sabbath.  No  end  to  chaises,  coaches,  and  wagons, 
with  fugitives."  "Wednesday,  September  17th. 
The  poor  children  of  men  in  both  armies  are  badly 
off,  and  must  bear  the  cold  wind  and  rain  without 
tents  or  shelter,  which,  particularly  at  this  period 
of  the  equinox,  causes  serious  illness.  Here  am 
I,  old  and  worn  out,  with  a  sick  wife,  subject  to 
hysterical  paroxysms,  have  with  me  two  daugh- 
ters, two  sons'  Y^^ives,  with  two  infant  children,  and 
my  sons'  parents-in-law,  and  expect  every  day 
that  a  British  division  will  cross  the  Schuylkill 
and  treat  us  without  distinction,  as  the  providence 
of  God  has  ordered  and  will  allow." 

"Friday,  September  19th.  His  Excellency 
General  Washington  was  with  the  troops  who 
marched  past  here  to  the  Perkiomen."  "  Satur- 
day, September  20th.     Our  weaker  vessels  have 


DURING  THE  WAR  OF  1776.        179 

baked  bread  twice  to-day,  and  distributed  all 
the  food  we  had  to  the  sick  and  ailing." 
"Sunday,  September  21st.  We  were  advised 
to  fly,  as  a  battle  might  take  place  and  our 
house  be  plundered  and  burned.  Henry's  wife 
determined  to  go  to  New  Hanover.  I  wished 
my  sickly  wife  to  go  and  leave  me  behind  alone. 
She  was  not  to  be  persuaded,  but  would  rather 
live,  suffer,  and  die  with  nie  in  Providence." 
' '  Wednesday,  September  24th.  A  portion  of  the 
British  Army  is  still  lying  five  miles  from  our 
house."  "  Thursday,  September  25th.  There- 
port  is  that  the  British  soldiers  behave  barbar- 
ously. They  yesterday  hanged  up  an  old  man,  of 
sevent}^  or  eighty  years  of  age,  and,  when  nearly 
dead,  cut  him  down  again  ;  to-day  will  have  its 
own  evils.  Yesterday  evening  we  had  plenty  of 
visitors,  and  to-day  we  had  to  breakfast  Lord 
Sterling,  General  Wayne,  their  aids,  and  other 
officers."  "  Saturday,  September  27th.  To-day 
I  was  requested  to  bury  the  child  of  one  of  our 
vestrymen.  I  went  to  the  church,  but  found,  to 
my  sorrow,  that  a  regiment  of  Pennsylvania 
Militia  had  quartered  in  the  church  and  school- 
house.  It  was  full  at  the  organ,  on  which  one 
was  playing,  and  others  singing  to  it ;  below  was 
an  abundance  of  straw  and  manure,  and  on  the 
altar  they  had  their  victu^als.  I  went  in  ...  . 
they  began  to  mock.  My  lot  of  three  acres,  near 
the  church,  which  was  full  of  buckwheat  in 
blossom,  and  from  which  I  had  hoped  a  frugal 
supply  for  the  winter,  had  twenty  horses  in  it, 
wasting  far  more  than  they  consumed  ;  and,  if 
one  says  a  word,  you  are  called  a  Tory. "  "  Tues- 
day, September  30th.  I  can  neither  read  nor 
write  in  these  restless  times,  and  cannot  be  thank- 
ful enough  for  the  gracious  goodness,  protection, 


180  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

grace,  and  mercy  of  our  Saviour,  which  have  gov- 
erned us  miserable  worms  up  to  this  time.  My 
children  and  family  are  scattered  one  here  and  an- 
other there.  Mrs.  Kunze  and  family  have  remained 
in  Philadelphia. "  ' '  Saturda}',  October  4th.  Early 
in  the  morning  ^ve  heard  several  field-pieces.  The 
advanced  forces  of  both  sides  [including  General 
Muhlenberg's  brigade]  had  fought.  The  British 
advance,  on  this  side  of  Germantown,  had  planted 
cannon  about  our  Lutheran  Church  and  fired  out 
of  the  windows,  but  were  driven  out  at  the  first 
attack.  It  may  easily  be  imagined  in  what  con- 
dition it  is.  The  church  at  Barren  Hill  is  not 
likely  to  be  better  off . " 

During  the  following  winter,  Washington's  army 
lay  encamped  at  Valley  Forge,  a  few  miles  nearer 
Philadelphia.  General  IMuhlenberg  w^ould  fre- 
quently ride  over  to  spend  the  night  w4th  his 
father,  and  thus  narrowly  escaped  capture.  Several 
of  the  w^omen  ventured  into  the  city  to  visit  their 
desolated  homes.  The}^  brought  back  wdth  them 
some  salt,  a  contraband  article,  quilted  in  the  lin- 
ing of  their  dresses.  ''They  report  that  the  name 
of  Muhlenberg  is  made  very  suspicious  among  the 
Hessian  and  British  officers  in  Philadelphia." 
''The  British  threaten  bitterly  with  prison,  tor- 
ture, and  death,  if  they  can  catch  the  old  fellow. 
I  have  kept  myself  as  quiet  as  possible,  and  would 
not  do  otherwise,  as  I  had  no  call  to  meddle  with 
political  affairs." 

That  the  fire  had  not  entirely  died  out  of  the 
old  man's  breast  may  be  seen  from  an  incident  or 
two.  Some  scoffer  had  published  a  scurrilous 
article  on  the  fall  of  Adam  in  Dunlap's  "Packet," 
to  which  Muhlenberg  made  an  indignant  reply  : 
"Concerning  the  anonymous  writer,  we  wish  he 
may  be  admitted  into  a  charity  school,  there  to 


DURING    THE   WAR   OF    1776.  181 

learn  that  the  almighty  and  omniscient  God  had 
no  need  to  '  call  a  jury  '  to  inquire  into  the  trans- 
gression of  Adam,  and  that  He  does  not  want  any 
harlequin  or  fool  to  inquire,  What  kind  of  wood  ? 
etc." 

As  he  appeared  in  Philadelphia  but  rarely,  the 
vestry  undertook  in  March,  1779,  to  declare  the 
rectorship  (the  position  of  chief  pastor)  vacant, 
and  to  elect  Kunze  to  fill  it.  The  Patriarch's  sons 
were  furious.  Henry  resigned  his  pastorate  in 
Philadelphia.  Kunze  was  in  despair.  The  con- 
gregation was  in  an  uproar.  Apologies  were 
offered  the  old  man,  but  he  took  his  own  dignified 
way. 

He  went  down  to  Philadelphia,  preached  on 
^' Peace  be  unto  you,"  demanded  the  rescinding 
of  the  obnoxious  resolution,  which,  he  said,  would 
greatly  damage  his  pubUc  reputation  in  Europe 
and  America,   and  then  offered  his   resignation. 

The  resignation  was  accepted,  and  an  annual 
pension  of  £100  was  settled  on  the  beloved  emeritus 
pastor.  The  blunder  was  forgiven,  and  strife  was 
at  an  end  in  the  congregation,  though  it  was 
several  years  before  the  sons  would  be  reconciled. 
Henry  went  off  to  his  long  and  honorable  pastorate 
at  Lancaster  and  to  his  botanizing. 

That  winter  the  father  entertained  for  a  time  the 
General' s  wife,  children,  and  servants.  ' '  Of  human 
beings  we  have,  pro  tem. ,  under  our  roof  ...  in  all 
twenty-six  mouths  and  stomachs.  '  Vox  populi ' 
had  called  Frederick  from  the  New  Hanover  pas- 
torate to  the  Halls  of  Congress, ' '  as  the  represen- 
tative of  the  Germans  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  Synodical  meetings  were  much  disturbed 
by  the  war.  Either  they  were  not  held  at  all,  or 
Muhlenberg  could  not  be  present.  The  last  one 
he  attended  was  in  1781,  but  the  Minutes  were 


182-  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

alwaj^s  sent  him  to  read.  The  ' '  little  flock ' '  of 
1748  had  in  1781  no  less  than  twenty-six  under- 
shepherds,  besides  the  Patriarch  himself. 

In  1779  the  Halle  correspondence  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  war,  and  the  church  of  America 
naturally  and  peaceably  obtained  its  independ- 
ence. The  outward  sign  and  token  of  this  inde- 
pendence was  the  compilation  of  an  American 
Hymn-book,  ordered  by  Synod  in  1782.  Muhlen- 
berg was  made  chairman  of  the  committee.  It  was 
to  follow  the  general  lines  of  the  old  Halle  Hymn- 
book.  The  new  book  appeared  in  1786.  The 
Liturgy  and  Ministerial  Acts  were  those  in  use 
since  1748,  but  now  for  the  first  time  printed.  The 
writing  of  the  preface  and  the  chief  task  of  select- 
ing the  hymns  fell  on  the  Patriarch.  He  passed 
by  hymns  ' '  which,  following  the  language  of  Solo- 
mon's  Song,  use  terms  having  a  taint  of  the  sen- 
sual ;  also  those  which  speak  of  Jesus  in  a  playful 
manner,  in  diminutive  terms,  and  admitted  some 
of  the  older  hymns  despite  their  harsh  style  and 
rhythm." 

He  made  a  suggestion  in  1783,  in  part  real- 
ized in  the  ' '  Common  Service, ' '  that  it  were  well 
if  all  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Churches  of  the 
North  American  States  were  united  with  one  an- 
other, and  used  the  same  Order  of  Service.  The 
General  Synod  was  not  established  until  1820, 
and  it  was  not  until  1888  that  the  "Common 
Service"  was  agreed  upon  by  all  the  General 
Bodies  using  the  English  language.  The  Common 
Hymnal,  the  last  of  Muhlenberg's  ''pise  desid- 
erise,"  has  not  as  yet  been  adopted,  although  action 
looking  toward  this  has  been  taken  by  three  of  the 
General  Bodies. 

His  final  public  appearance  away  from  Provi- 
dence was  at  the  reconsecration  of  Zion  Church, 


DURING  THE  WAR  OF  1776.         133 

1782.  It  had  been  used  as  a  hospital  during  the 
British  occupancy  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  re- 
fitted at  considerable  expense.  Muhlenberg' s  text 
was  Gen.  xxviii.  17,  "And  he  was  afraid,  and 
said,  How  dreadful  is  this  place  !  this  is  none  other 
but  the  house  of  God,  and  this  is  the  gate  of 
heaven. ' '     And  so  his  last  word  in  Philadelphia 


That  we  should  look,  poor  wanderers, 

To  have  our  Home  on  high  ! 
That  worms  should  seek  for  dwellings 

Beyond  the  starry  sky  ! 
And  now  we  fight  the  battle, 

But  then  shall  wear  the  crown 
Of  full  and  everlasting 

And  passionless  renown," 


CHAPTER    II. 

LIGHT    AT    EVENTIDE. 

Unabated  Interest  in  the  World — Admirer  of  Washing- 
ton— Enjoys  Children  and  Books — His  Busy  Pen — D. 
D. — Defender  of  the  Faith — Gathering  Infirmities — 
Triumphant  Departure.     (1783-1787. ) 

But  it  shall  be  one  day  which  shall  be  known  to  the  Lord,  not  day, 
nor  night :  but  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  at  evening  time  it  shall  be 
light.— Zech.  xiv.  7. 

Thou  Shalt  rise  up  before  the  hoary  head,  and  honour  the  face  of  the 
old  man,  and  fear  thy  God  :  I  am  the  Lord. — Lev.  xix.  32. 

Night  did  not  suddenly  descend  npon  the  Pa- 
triarch. After  the  sun  of  his  public  usefulness 
had  set,  he  lived  on  in  the  prolonged  afterglow 
and  enjoyed  a  calm  and  beautiful  eventide. 

From  his  study  windows  he  kept  a  watchful 
eye  on  the  great  outside  w^orld.  To  his  beloved 
Voigt,  the  pastor  and  comfort  of  his  declining 
days,  he,  in  1783,  gave  decisive  advice  against  ad- 
mitting a  Methodist  into  his  pulpit.  To  Streit, 
who  had  lost  his  wife,  he  wrote  :  ' '  You  have  not 
created,  nor  ransomed,  nor  adopted  her  in  Holy 
Baptism,  not  crowned  her  with  glory.  She  be- 
longs to  God.  He  alone  has  the  right  to  give  and 
to  take  as  it  may  please  Him.  You  have  more 
cause  to  adore  God  in  truth  and  to  offer  thanks  to 
Him  in  humility  than  to  give  way  to  depressing 
and  melancholy  thoughts.  Be  nol  faithless,  but 
believing,  manly  and  strong  in  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  beware  of  disorders  of  the  mind  which  change 
gnats  into  elephants. "  He  was  an  ardent  admirer 
(184) 


LIGHT   AT   EVENTIDE.  185 

of  General  Washington,  and  copied  into  his  diary 
the  concluding  paragraph  of  the  General's  Fare- 
well Address  on  resigning  his  high  military  posi- 
tion in  1783.  He  appreciated  a  man  who  in  so 
exalted  a  position  could  confess  Christ  before 
men. 

He  enjoyed  the  companionship  of  his  children 
and  grandchildren.  He  employed  some  of  his 
leisure  in  theological  reading,  securing  the  recent 
works  from  Germany.  A  few  titles  will  show 
how  widely  he  read  :  Hess,  "  Last  Three  Years  of 
the  Life  of  Jesus;"  Crusius,  ^'Morals;"  Mo- 
sheim,  "Church  History;"  Goecking,  "History 
of  the  Salzburg  Emigration  ;"  Moser's  "Monthly 
Contributions  to  the  Advancement  of  True  Chris- 
tianity ;  "  the  writings  of  Gellert,  Bengel,  etc. ; 
and  the  "Missionary  Reports"  of  East  India. 
And  so  he  kept  abreast  the  times,  a  growing  man- 
until  his  spirit  took  its  flight  from  earth.  ^  As  befit 
those  later  years,  he  paid  special  attention  to  the 
prophetic  portions  of  Scripture. 

His  pen  was  constantly  busy.  Those  marvel- 
ous diaries  were  continued  up  to  within  ten  days 
of  his  death.  His  son,  Henry  Ernst,  of  Lancas- 
ter, wrote  freely  to  his  father,  giving  the  frankest 
details  of  his  pastoral  activity  and  his  inner  spirit- 
ual life,  which  was  not  only  a  mark  of  honor  to 
his  venerable  parent,  but  doubtless  called  _  forth 
earnest  and  helpful  words  of  counsel.  This  son 
was  in  fact  his  theological  heir,  and  the  father  had 
the  satisfaction,  in  the  last  year  of  his  hfe,  of  see- 
ing his  son  elevated  to  the  Presidency  of  the  Synod 
and  also  to  that  of  Frankhn  College  at  Lancaster. 
The  American  Philosophical  Society  had  already 
made  him  a  member.  He  was  on  the  high  road 
to  international  fame  as  a  botanist — "the  Ameri- 
can Linnaeus." 


186  HE^'RY    MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

Correspondence  with  Europe  was  resumed. 
Halle  had  not  forgotten  its  most  distinguished 
Western  missionary.  His  last  recorded  letter  to 
Halle  bears  date  of  December  6th,  1782.  It  fitly 
crowns  his  life-work  :  "  It  is  just  forty  years  since 
I  landed  the  first  time  at  Philadelphia,  and  I  be- 
lieve that  my  end  is  no  longer  very  far  off.  Had 
I,  during  these  forty  years,  been  as  faithful  to  my 
Lord  and  Saviour  as  Jeremiah,  I  might  await  a 
joyful  end.  Now,  however,  I  must  count  it  the 
greatest  act  of  mercy,  if  my  dear  Redeemer,  for 
the  sake  of  His  own  all-sufhcient  merit,  over- 
looks my  faults  and  infirmities  and  receives  me 
into  grace." 

His  own  beloved  Wrangel  sent  him  a  letter  and 
some  of  his  literary  productions.  Muhlenberg's 
reply  is  signed  "  Candidatus  mortis"  (candidate 
for  death). 

His  own  title  was  ' '  Senior ' '  of  the  Minis- 
terium.  The  University  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1784, 
bestow^ed  a  tardy  ''D.  D."  upon  him,  which  he 
requested  his  friends  to  ignore.  There  was  no 
vanity  in  his  composition,  yet  he  was  a  true  Doc- 
tor of  Divinity,  even  to  the  end.  Hearing  that 
one  of  the  young  clergymen,  affected  by  the  grow- 
ing rationalism  of  the  times,  had  undertaken  to 
denounce  Paul  as  a  teacher  of  false  doctrine,  and 
to  raise  the  cry  ' '  Back  to  Jesus, ' '  Muhlenberg 
sent  him  an  aggrieved  but  cutting  letter.  He 
called  him  "  an  apprentice  in  theology,"  and  pro- 
posed, in  case  the  error  was  not  recanted,  to  cite 
the  man  before  the  Synod,  *■ '  For  such  cancers 
seem  at  first  only  trifling  excrescences,  but  are  soon 
enlarged  unless  the  root  is  cut  out  in  proper 
time." 

After  September,  1784,  he  could  not  venture 
into  the  pulpit.     Dropsy  and  dizziness  increased, 


LIGHT   AT   EVENTIDE.  187 

and,  toward  the  end,  asthma  was  added  ;  but,  in 
all  his  sufferings,  not  a  murmur  escaped  him.  In 
rare  cases  he  delivered  funeral  addresses  or  per- 
formed marriages  or  baptized  children  in  the  ab- 
sence of  Pastor  Voigt,  or  where  old  members  de- 
sired to  have  their  old  pastor,  who  was  bound  up 
with  the  spiritual  life  of  their  families.  The 
proof  sheets  of  the  hymns  were  read  and  corrected 
by  him.  Occasionally,  too,  he  would  give  gratu- 
itous medical  advice  to  his  neighbors.  Clerical 
visitors  made  frequent  pilgrimages  to  Providence 
to  pay  their  respects  to  the  Patriarch. 

The  closing  scene  came  in  1787.  He  kept  the 
use  of  his  faculties  to  the  last.  To  this  year  we 
owe  an  affectionate  letter  to  a  lad,  whose  godfather 
he  was,  urging  him  to  prepare  for  confirmation. 
As  showing  that  he  did  not  make  his  inability  to 
perform  great  tasks  an  excuse  for  neglecting 
smaller  duties  and  opportunities,  we  note  that  the 
venerable  Doctor  of  Divinity  gave  some  of  his 
evenings  to  instructing  a  servant  girl  in  spelling, 
reading,  and  the  Catechism. 

A  few  days  before  his  death  he  bade  the  ever- 
welcome  Voigt  "Farewell,"  repeating  in  Ger- 
man the  words  : 

"  A  heavy  road  before  me  lies 
Up  to  the  heavenly  Paradise  ; 
My  lasting  home  is  there  with  Thee, 
Bought  with  Thy  life-blood  once  for  me." 

His  wife  and  most  of  his  children  were  with  him 
on  Saturday,  October  6th.  Between  twelve  and 
one  o'clock  Sunday  morning,  he  recited  the  last 
verse  of  Paul  Gerhardt's  "  Befiehl  du  deine 
Wege.'* 


188  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

"  Haste,  Lord,  to  end  our  sorrow, 

Our  feeble  hands  support ; 
Each  day  and  each  to-morrow 

Be  Thou  our  soul's  resort. 
May  we  to  Thy  great  mercy 

Till  death  commended  be, 
Then  shall  our  earthly  footsteps 

Us  safely  lead  to  Thee." 

And  then  he  gently  fell  asleep,  to  wake 

"  Where  evermore  the  angels  sing, 
Where  Sabbaths  have  no  end." 

"Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let 
my  last  end  be  like  his." — Num.  xxiii.  10. 


CHAPTER  III. 


IN    MEMORIAM. 


Memorial  Inscription — Funeral  Honors — His  Illustrious 
Posterity— ;Muhlenberg  College — Tributes  by  Drs. 
Kunze,  Krauth,  Jacobs,  and  Mann— A  Living  Memo- 
rial :  "  Ecclesia  Plantata." 

Remember  them  which  have  the  rule  over  3'ou,  who  have  spoken  unto 
you  the  word  of  God  :  whose  faith  follow,  considering  the  end  of  their 
conversation. — Heb.  xiii.  7. 

And  I  thank  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  who  hath  enabled  me,  for  that 
he  counted  me  faithful,  putting  me  into  the  ministry. 

This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ 
Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners ;  of  whom  I  am  chief.— 
1  Tim.  i.  12,  15. 

His  remains  were  interred  in  the  churchyard 
by  the  side  of  Augustus  Church,  which  he  had 
erected  in  the  first  year  of  his  missionary  activity. 
A  white  marble  slab  marks  the  spot.  It  bears  this 
simple  inscription  : 


HOC 

MONUMENTUM   SaCRUM   ESTO 

Memori^  Beati  AC  Venerabilis 
HENRICI  MELCHIOR  MUHLENBERG 

SACEiE  Theologi^  Doctor  et 

Senioris  Ministerii  Lutherani 

Americani. 

NATI  SEPT.  6,  1711. 
DEFUNCTI  OCT.  7,  1787. 

QUALIS    ET    QUANTUS    FUERIT 

NoN  Ignorabunt  Sine  Lapide 

FUTURA   S^CULA. 


190  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 


SACRED 

Be  this  Monument  to  the 

Memory  of  the  Blessed  and  venerable 

HENRY  MELCHIOR  MUHLENBERG 

Doctor  of  Sacred  Theology  and 
Senior  of  the  American  Lutheran 

MiNISTERIUM. 

BORN  SEPT.  6,  1711. 
DIED  OCT.  7,  1787. 

"Who  and  What  he  Was 

Future    Ages    Will    Know 

Without  a  Stone. 


Beneath  the  same  stone  rest  the  earthly  remams 
of  his  wife,  who  died  August  23d,  1802. 

His  exact  age  was  seventy-six  years  and  thirty- 
one  days.  Delegations  came  from  a  great  distance 
to  do  him  honor.  Twenty  ministers  stood  about 
his  grave.  The  text  of  Rev.  Mr.  Voigt'  s  address 
under  the  open  sky  was  exceedingly  appropriate, 
Ps.  XV.  1-2  :  "  Lord,  who  shall  abide  in  thy  taber- 
nacle? Who  shall  dwell  in  thy  holy  hill?  He 
that  walketh  uprightly  and  worketh  righteousness 
and  speaketh  truth  in  his  heart."  In  this  Pennsyl- 
vania wdlderness,  overrun  with  sects  and  clerical 
impostors,  Muhlenberg  conquered,  less  by  his  tact 
and  learning  than  by  the  openness  and  upright- 
ness of  his  character. 

The  muffled  church  bells  at  Lancaster  tolHng 
on  the  day  of  the  funeral,  the  draped  churches  at 
Lancaster,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York,  and  the 
two    Memorial    Sermons    by    Drs.     Kunze    and 


IN   MEMORIAM.  191 

Helmuth  on  the  same  text,  2  Kings  ii.  12,  told 
the  world  ' '  A  good  man  has  fallen. ' '  Dr.  Hel- 
muth's  discourse  was  issued  in  pamphlet  form, 
with  a  brief  sketch  of  Muhlenberg's  life. 

This  account  would  be  incomplete  without  some 
mention  of  the  Patriarch's  posterity,  illustrious 
ahke  in  Church  and  State.  Like  their  ancestor, 
they  were  Americans  of  the  Americans.  The 
widow  survived  her  husband  fifteen  years.  She 
saw  her  son,  the  General,  elected  Vice-President 
of  Pennsylvania  (with  Franklin  as  President), 
and  thrice  a  member  of  Congress.  He  was  Collector 
of  the  Port  of  Philadelphia  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  was  a  leading  advocate  of  English  in  the  ser- 
vices of  the  Church,  though  to  the  end  a  member 
of  St.  Michael  and  Zion's  corporation. 

Frederick  A.  C.  Muhlenberg,  after  occupying  the 
Speaker's  chair  in  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  was 
elevated  to  the  position  of  Speaker  in  the  First 
and  Third  Congresses.  In  his  illustrious  grandson, 
William  Augustus  Muhlenberg,  D.  D.,  the  Epis- 
copalian divine,  two  strains  of  the  great-grand- 
father's disposition  appear.  He  is  noted  equally 
as  an  educator  and  a  philanthropist.  He  is  the 
author  of  ' '  I  would  not  Live  Alway ' '  and  other 
fine  hymns. 

G.  H.  E.  Muhlenberg,  D.  D.,  inherited  the  tastes 
of  his  father  in  theology,  music,  and  science.  It  is 
said  of  the  father,  by  Helmuth,  that  he  had  a  good 
insight  into  chemistry,  anatomy,  and  medicine, 
and  that  he  played  on  the  organ,  the  harp,  the 
zither,  and  the  violin.  The  son  is  called  ' '  the 
American  Linnaeus. ' '  He  was  the  discoverer  of  a 
hundred  new  species  of  plants,  and  published 
many  learned  botanical  articles.  There  was  even 
a  physical  likeness  between  father  and  son,  both 
being  of  medium  stature,  florid  complexion,  and 


192  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

robust  frame.     The  father  was  famous  for  his  long 
rides,  the  son  for  his  long  walks. 

After  a  lengthy  pastorate  in  Reading,  his  oldest 
son,  Rev.  H.  A.  P.  Muhlenberg,  on  account  of  fail- 
ing health,  entered  political  life,  and  went  from  the 
halls  of  Congress  to  Austria,  as  American  Minister. 
The  other  son,  F.  A.  Muhlenberg,  M.  D.,  ''the 
beloved  physician"  of  Lancaster,  was  the  father 
of  the  venerable  Rev.  Prof.  Frederick  Augustus 
Muhlenberg,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  who  carried  over  into 
the  Twentieth  Century  the  lustre  of  that  imperish- 
able name  and  adorned  it  with  distinguished  clas- 
sical scholarship  and  exalted  piety.  Occupying 
chairs  in  five  educational  institutions,  he  will  be 
best  remembered  as  the  first  President  (1867-1877) 
of  Muhlenberg  College,  Allentown,  Pa.,  a  monu- 
ment alike  to  his  own  and  his  ancestor's  virtues. 

Through  the  oldest  daughter  Muhlenberg  be- 
came the  grandfather  of  a  Pennsylvania  Governor 
John  Andrew  Schultze.     The  youngest  daughter 
wife  of  Matthias  Reichart,  Member  of  Congress 
was  the  mother  of  Rev.  J.  W.  Richards,   D.  D. 
and  the  grandmother  of  Rev.  Prof.  Matthias  H 
Richards,  D.  D.,  the  brilliant  and  versatile  pro- 
fessor of  the  English  language  and  literature  at 
Muhlenberg  College. 

Dr.  Kunze  in  his  funeral  sermon  calls  Muhlen- 
berg ' '  the  Luther  of  America. ' '  He  speaks  of 
Muhlenberg's  good  humor,  unaffected  wit,  most 
retentive  memory,  penetrating  judgment,  and 
solid  and  comprehensive  erudition.  He  not  only 
preached  conversion  ;  he  was  himself  a  converted 
man.  He  was  a  man  of  rare  humility.  By  his 
prudence  he  escaped  many  snares  laid  for  him. 
There  was  no  selfishness  in  him.  His  disinter- 
estedness and  liberality  rested  on  the  firm  con- 
viction that  God  would  never  forsake  him,  and 


IN    MEMORIAM.  193 

those  belonging  to  him  for  whom  he  could  gather 
no  earthly  riches. 

He  also  speaks  of  Muhlenberg's  readiness  to 
forgive  and  to  be  reconciled.  While  he  was 
very  mild  and  tender  of  heart,  he  was  firm  and 
unyielding  in  his  convictions  and  principles. 
There  was  in  him  a  spirit  of  prayer,  and  all  those 
who  heard  him  pray  felt  his  nearness  to  God. 
Conjoined  with  this  was  a  purity  of  life  which 
even  his  bitterest  enemies  could  not  successfully 
assail. 

Of  his  labors,  Kunze  rightly  says,  that  all  the 
supervision  of  a  European  diocese  would  never 
amount  to  the  work  which  he  had  to  perform 
here.  He  was  indefatigable  in  preaching — and 
this  in  the  most  attractive  manner — in  teaching 
the  young,  in  watching  over  soundness  of  doc- 
trine, and  in  willingness  to  suffer  most  distressing 
losses,  and  to  bear  the  cross  which  God  in  various 
ways  laid  upon  him. 

Rev.  Dr.  C.  Porterfield  Krauth  sketches  the 
Patriarch  in  a  sentence  :  ''In  missionary  zeal,  in 
pastoral  tact  and  fidelity,  in  organizing  ability 
and  personal  piety,  he  had  no  superior. ' ' 

Rev.  Dr.  H.  E.  Jacobs  sums  up  his  character 
thus  :  ' '  Depth  of  religious  conviction,  extraordi- 
nary inwardness  of  character,  apostolic  zeal  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  individuals,  absorbing  devotion 
to  his  calling  and  all  its  details  were  among  his 
most  marked  characteristics.  These  were  com- 
bined with  an  intuitive  penetration  and  extended 
width  of  view,  a  statesman-like  grasp  of  every  situ- 
ation in  which  he  was  placed,  an  almost  prophetic 
foresight,  coolness  and  discriminating  judgment, 
and  peculiar  gifts  for  organization  and  adminis- 
tration. The  pietistic  fervor  of  his  earlier  years, 
which  called  forth  his  Defense  of  Pietism  against 
13 


194  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

Dr.  B.  Mentzer,  his  only  book,  in  1741,  and  which 
is  not  without  extravagance  in  the  Halle  Reports, 
was  much  tempered  in  his  later  years." 

In  his  ' '  Life  and  Times  of  Henry  Melchior 
Muhlenberg,"  an  extensive  literary  monument  to 
the  Patriarch's  memory.  Rev.  Dr.  W.  J.  Mann 
writes  :  ' '  Among  the  people  he  had  grown  up. 
A  man  of  the  people,  a  popular  man  in  the  very 
best  sense  of  the  term,  he  was  ;  and  this  he  had 
to  be  amid  crude  material  which  he  was  obliged 
to  mould.  But  popular  as  he  was,  there  was  no 
one  who  in  his  presence  did  not  feel  that,  like 
Saul,  though  in  a  different  sense,  Muhlenberg 
'  from  his  shoulders  and  upward  was  higher  than 
any  of  the  people. '  ' ' 

In  a  word,  he  had  what  others  lacked,  that  com- 
bination of  qualities  essential  to  leadership — the 
power  of  initiative,  resourcefulness,  indomitable 
energy,  and  sublime  Christian  courage.  He  found 
his  field  wherever  he  was,  and  sought  it  wherever  he 
went.    Always  and  everywhere  he  was  ' '  on  duty. ' ' 

His  best  memorial  is  the  ' '  Church  ' '  itself.  His 
' '  Ecclesia  Plantanda  ' '  has  become  ' '  Ecclesia 
Plantata  :"  the  church  that  "  was  to  be  planted  " 
' '  has  been  planted. ' '  Out  of  the  soil  so  dili- 
gently cultivated  and  the  vines  so  tenderly 
nurtured  by  this  model  Home  Missionary  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century  has  come  a  Church,  respect- 
able in  numbers,  history,  and  doctrine — a  Luth- 
eran Church — an  American  Lutheran  Church,  for 
the  centuries  yet  to  be. 

**Mc63c^  is  tbe  man  tbat  cnOuretb  temptation; 
tor  wben  be  batb  been  approved,  be  6baU  receive 
tbe  crown  of  life,  wbicb  tbe  XorO  promised  to  tbem 
tbat  love  bim/^— 5ame6  i.  12  (1R.  V.), 


FROM  THE   CRADLE   TO   THE  GRAVE. 


Germany. 

1711     September  6th.  Bom  at  Eimbeck,  Hanover. 
1718-23     Sent  to  German  and  Latin  School. 
1723     Is  confirmed.     Father  dies.     Works  at  his 

brother's  trade. 
1727     June   24th.     Anna  Mary  Weiser   born  at 

Tulpehocken,  Pa. 

1732  Enters  public  school  at  Eimbeck. 

1733  Student- tutor  under  Rector  Raphael,  at 
Zellerfeld,  eighteen  months. 

1734  Reviews  studies  at  home. 

1735  March  19th.  Matriculates  at  University  of 
Goettingen.  Becomes  amanuensis  of  Dr. 
Oporin. 

1736  Helps  to  found  Charity  School  at  Goet- 
tingen. 

1737  Preaches  and  catechises  at  University 
Church.     Private  chaplain  of  Count  Reuss. 

1738  Graduates  at  Goettingen.  Visits  University 
of  Jena. 

1738  May  to  1739,  June.  Instructor  at  Halle 
Orphan  House. 

1739  Awaits  call  to  India.  August  24th.  Or- 
dained at  Leipsic.  Becomes  Assistant 
Pastor  at  Grosshennersdorf  and  Inspector 
of  Orphan  House. 

(195) 


196  HENRY    MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

1741  Publishes  a  '^Defense  of  Pietism."  Sep- 
tember 6th.  Visiting  Dr.  Francke  at  Halle, 
accepts  call  to  Pennsylvania.  December 
9th.    Farewell  sermon  at  Grosshennersdorf. 

1742  April  16th  to  June  13th.  With  Dr.  Ziegen- 
hagen  in  London.  June  13th.  Embarks 
for  America.  During  twelve  weeks'  voyage 
acts  as  Chaplain. 

America. 

1742  September  23d.  Lands  at  Charleston,  S.  C. 
Spends  a  week  at  Ebenezer,  Georgia. 
November  25th.  After  two  weeks'  voyage, 
lands  at  Philadelphia.  November  28th, 
December  5th  and  11th.  First  sermons  at 
"The  Swamp,"  "  The  Trappe,"  and 
Philadelphia. 

1743  April  5th.  Lays  corner-stone  of  St. 
Michael's,  Philadelphia.  Church  occu- 
pied in  October.  May  2d.  Lays  corner- 
stone of  Augustus  Church,  ' '  The  Trappe. ' ' 
Church  occupied  in  September.  Confirms 
first  Catechumen  (in  English)  at  ''The 
Trappe." 

1745  January  26th.  Brunnholtz,  Kurtz,  and 
Schaum  arrive  in  Philadelphia.  April 
22d.  Marries  Anna  Mary  Weiser,  and 
settles  at  ''The  Trappe."  October  6th. 
"The  Trappe"  Church  dedicated  as 
' '  Augustus  Church. ' ' 

1746  Oley,  Saucon,  Upper  Milford,  taken  as 
"fiiials."  Visits  Perkasie,  Easton,  and 
Macungie.  Two  trips  to  Raritan,  N.  J. ; 
two  to  Lancaster,  and  one  to  York.  Old 
Conrad  Weiser  visits  Muhlenfoerg.  Octo- 
ber 1st.       (Gen.)   John  Peter  Gabriel  M. 


''from  the  cradle  to  the  grave.''     197 

born.  Schlatter's  first  visit  to  M.  Suf- 
fers many  accidents  and  much  hardship, 
1746-7. 

1747  June.  Journeys  to  Frederick,  Md.,  via 
Hanover  and  York.  July.  Hartwig' s  first 
visit  to  M.       Mother  dies  in  Germany. 

1748  January  29th.  Eva  Elizabeth  (Mrs.  Rev. 
C.  E.  Schultze)  born.  Handschuh  arrives  ; 
is  assigned    to  Lancaster. 

1748  April  28th.  Uniform  liturgy  adopted  by 
United  Ministers  at  "  The  Trappe."  Visits 
Blue  Mountain  region.  August  14th. 
Dedicates  St.  Michael's,  Philadelphia. 
August  15th.  Ordains  J.  N.  Kurtz.  Or- 
ganizes Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania.  Is 
ex-officio  President. 

1749  Shelters  and  instructs  three  theological 
students.  Buys  ground  at  Germantown 
for  Theological  Seminary  and  Orphans' 
Home.     Adds  Mullaton  to  his  parish. 

1750  January  1st.  Frederick  Augustus  Conrad 
(first  Speaker  of  Congress)  born.  Delivers 
Latin  address  at  Synod,  ' '  The  Trappe. ' ' 
August  and  September.  Trip  to  New  York 
with  Weiser.  Visits  Hartwig.  Meets  Berk- 
enmever.  Preaches  in  Dutch  Church, 
New  York  City. 

1751  Visits  Reading.  May  17th  to  August 
26th.  Supplies  pulpit  of  Dutch  Churches, 
New  York  City,  and  Hackensack,  N.  J. 
Preaches  in  German,  Dutch,  English.  Sep- 
tember 17th.  Margaretta  Henrietta  (Mrs. 
Dr.  Kunze)  born. 

1752  May  9th  to  August  3d.  Again  serves 
Dutch  churches,  as  above.  October.  Re- 
dedication  of  St.  Michael's,  Germantown. 
Sermon  by  Provost  Acrelius.     Muhlenberg 


198  HENRY   MELCHIOR   MUHLENBERG. 

contributes  German  hymn.    Gerock  arrives  ; 
settles  at  Lancaster. 

1753  William  Graaf  studies  with  Muhlenberg. 
November  17th.  Gotthilf  Henry  Ernst 
( ' '  the  American  Linnasus ' ' )  born.  De- 
cember.    Trip  to  Frederick,  Md. 

1754  Issues  lengthy  "Appeal"  to  Mother- 
Church  in  Germany.  September  24th. 
Becomes  naturalized  as  a  subject  of  Great 
Britain. 

1755  Weiser  made  Lieutenant-Colonel  in  French 
and  Indian  War.  November  4th.  Maria 
Catharine  (married  Major  Swaine)  born. 

1 757  St.  Michael' s  Church  Council  offends  Muhl- 
enberg.    He  remains  away  three  years. 

1758  Spends  nine  weeks  in  Raritan  parish,  N.  J. 

1759  Four  months  more  in  Raritan  parish.  De- 
clines call  to  Nova  Scotia. 

1760  August  24th.  Meets  Wrangel.  October 
19th.  Synod  revived.  Muhlenberg  Presi- 
dent, 1760-1771. 

1761  May  17th.  At  Synod,  corner-stone  of  Trin- 
ity, Lancaster,  laid.  .  Makes  elaborate  de- 
fense of  his  orthodoxy  in  reply  to  Rauss. 
October  29th.     Removes  to  Philadelphia. 

1762  Furnishes  the  Philadelphia  church  with  a 
model  church  constitution. 

1763  April  27th.  Sends  Peter,  Frederick,  and 
Henry  to  Halle. 

1766  June  11th.  Corner-stone  of  Zion,  Phila- 
delphia, laid.  July  13th.  Maria  Salome 
(married  to  Matthias  Reichart)  born.  Eva 
married  to  Rev.  C.  E.  Schultze.  August  1st. 
Thanksgiving*  Sermon  for  repeal  of  Stamp 
Act.  Sermon  printed.  Carries  Barren  Hill 
church  debt.  Peter  returns  :  studies  under 
Wrangel.     M.  begins  "Autobiography." 


199 

1768  New  Hanover  Church  dedicated.  Peter  M. 
to  Raritan.      Farewell  to  Wrangel. 

1769  June  25th.  Dedicates  Zion,  Philadelphia. 
July  11th.  Emanuel  Samuel,  eleventh 
child,  born ;  died  1774.  Helmuth  and 
Schmidt  arrive. 

1770  Kunze  arrives,  bringing  Frederick  and 
Henry  M.  Kunze  becomes  M.'s  assistant. 
Schultze  goes  to  Tulpehocken. 

1771  Collin,  the  last  minister  sent  from  Sweden. 

1772  Peter  M.  to  Woodstock,  Va. 

1773  Frederick  M.  to  Christ  Church,  New  York 
City ;  organizes  New  York  Ministerium.  M. 
proposes  Orphans'  Home  to  Synod  ;  Kunze, 
Theological  Seminary.  Latter  begun,  but 
interrupted  by  the  War. 

1774  Henry  Ernst,  third  pastor  in  Philadelphia 
churches.  August  27th.  Sails  for  Georgia. 
Seven  weeks  at  Charleston.  Spends  winter 
at  Ebenezer. 

1775  March  6th.  Returns  to  Philadelphia.  Slan- 
derous reports  about  M.     Visits  Reading. 

1776  January.  Peter  preaches  famous  farewell 
sermon  ;  becomes  Colonel  of  8th  Virginia 
Regiment.  March  18th.  Removes  from 
Philadelphia  to  ''  The  Trappe."  July  4th. 
Is  in  Philadelphia  with  Frederick  M. 

1777  February.  Peter  made  Brigadier-General. 
September.  ' '  The  Trappe ' '  parsonage  filled 
with  refugees.  September-October.  A 
month  of  alarms.  Frederick  and  Henry  at 
home.      Battle  of  Germantown. 

1777-8  Winter.  Peter  with  troops  at  Valley 
Forge. 

1778  Hearing  impaired.  Philadelphia  Vestry 
blunders  again.  M.'s  sons  furious.  Henry 
resigns. 


200  HENRY   MELCHIOR    MUHLENBERG. 

1779  April.  Formally  resigns  as  first  pastor  at 
Philadelphia.  Made  ' '  Emeritus, ' '  with 
£100  per  annum.  Frederick  M.  elected  to 
Congress.     Halle  correspondence  ceases. 

!'.780     Henry  pastor  at  Lancaster  until  1815. 

1781  Last  time  at  Synod,  in  Philadelphia. 

1782  Zion  reconsecrated  after  War.  M,  preaches 
last  sermon  in  Philadelphia.  December  6th. 
Last  letter  to  Halle.  Maria  Salome  married 
to  Mr.  Reichart.  Chairman  of  Committee 
to  issue  new  hymn  book  ;  writes  preface  and 
selects  the  hymns. 

1783  Suggests  a  "  Common  Service"  and  a  Gen- 
eral Synod.  Weinland,  the  last  minister 
from  Halle. 

1784  May  27th.  "  D.  D.  "  by  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  September  26th.  Last  ser- 
mon in  Augustus  Church.  Kunze  removes 
to  New  York  City. 

1786  Henry,  ''D.  D.,''  President  of  Synod,  and 
President  of  Franklin  College,  Lancaster. 

1787  October  7th.  Dies.  Aged  76  years.  Buried 
near  Augustus  Church,  ' '  The  Trappe. ' ' 
Memorial  Sermons  by  Kunze  and  Hel- 
muth. 

'*  So  tcacb  us  to  number  our  ^al25,  tbat  we  ma^ 
appli?  our  bearts  unto  wisOom/'— p6.  ic,  12. 


THE  e:^d. 


938.11 
Frick 


M8943 


S5&A1  n?a-A3 


BRITTLE  DO  NOT 
PHOTOCOPY 


